Before and Beyond Europe: Economic Change in Historical Perspective

All sessions will be held in Harkness Hall (WLH) 119

(WLH can be accessed either from Cross Campus or from Wall St.)

The conference is open and free to the public, but please register by clicking on the link below no later than February 21^st.

TRAVEL INFORMATION — CAMPUS MAP

25-26 February 2011

It is broadly held now, following Douglass C. North and others, that History matters to Economics.  This shift has contributed to a rebirth in Economic History and inspired lively debates and new and exciting cross-disciplinary exchange.  This conference aims to capture this new dynamism in Economic History by inviting scholars working on Economic History from different disciplinary angles, in different historical periods, and in many areas of the world.  Topics in the conference range from the Ancient Mediterranean to Medieval Europe, from Early Modern China to Modern Africa.  Its premise is that cross-disciplinary dialogue is best cultivated in a collegial atmosphere and by discussion of innovative empirical research.

Conference program:

All papers will be available online. We encourage those who plan to attend to read them in advance. Each speaker will present her/his contribution for about 20 minutes. A Q&A session will follow.

FRIDAY

1:15pm Naomi Lamoreaux (Economics and History, Yale University) Opening Remarks

1:30-3pm Islamic Law and Economic Development

Chair:  Timothy Guinnane (Economics, Yale University)

Baber Johansen (Harvard Divinity School and Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Harvard University), “The Legal Personality (dhimma) in Islamic Law: How to Separate Obligations from Goods and Secure Credit for the Insolvent”

Timur Kuran (Economics and Political Science, Duke University), “Economic Modernization in Late British India: Hindu-Muslim Differences”

Coffee break

3:30-5pm  Indigenous and Foreign Economic Institutions in Africa

Chair: Steven Nafziger (Economics, Williams College)

Ghislaine Lydon (History, UCLA), “Contracting Trust: Legal Institutions and Enforcement Mechanisms in Early-Modern Saharan Trade”

Nathan Nunn (Economics, Harvard University), “Christians in Colonial Africa”

SATURDAY

Coffee and light breakfast

9-10:30am   Europe and China Compared

Chair:  Peter Perdue (History, Yale University)

Jean-Laurent Rosenthal (Economics, California Institute of Technology) and

R. Bin Wong (History, UCLA), Excerpts from Before and Beyond Divergence: The Politics of Economic Change in China and Europe (Harvard University Press, 2011)

Coffee break

11-12:30pm   Ancient Economies

Chair: Joseph Manning (Classics and History, Yale University)

Ulrike Malmendier (Economics, University of California- Berkeley), her presentation will build on two recent papers: “Roman Law and the Law-and-Finance Debate” and “Law and Finance ‘at the Origin’”
Nicholas K. Rauh (Classics, Purdue University), “Landscape Ecology and the End of Antiquity: The Archaeology of Deforestation in South Coastal Turkey”

Buffet Lunch

1:30-3pm Medieval Trade

Chair: Francesca Trivellato (History, Yale University)

Jessica Goldberg (History, University of Pennsylvania), “Making Reputation Work: Re-examining Law, Labor and Enforcement among Geniza Businessmen” Note: Please contact Professor Goldberg for a revised version.

Quentin Van Doosselaere (Paul Lazarsfeld Center for the Social Sciences, Columbia University), “Equity Partnerships for Heterogeneous Ties”