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Merger or Acquisition? Introduction to the Handbook of Historical Economics

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  • Alberto Bisin
  • Giovanni Federico

Abstract

The relationship between history and economics as academic disciplines is methodologically subtle and sociologically contested. If the Cliometric revolution can be characterized as an acquisition of economics by history, the most recent trends in Historical Economics appear to turn this relationship on its head. In this Introduction we read the chapters of the Handbook as a forceful argument in favor of a merger between the two disciplines rather than the acquisition of one by the other; a merger which combines, notably, the detailed knowledge of historical sources, the capability of distilling complex historical processes into a model, and the statistical/econometric skills for identification and estimation.

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  • Alberto Bisin & Giovanni Federico, 2021. "Merger or Acquisition? Introduction to the Handbook of Historical Economics," NBER Working Papers 28786, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:28786
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    3. A. Ricci & S. Scicchitano & M. Conti & G. Cardullo & G. Sulis, 2022. "On the Emergence of Cooperative Industrial and Labor Relations," Working Paper CRENoS 202201, Centre for North South Economic Research, University of Cagliari and Sassari, Sardinia.
    4. Martina Cioni & Giovanni Federico & Michelangelo Vasta, 2022. "Persistence studies: a new kind of economic history?," Review of Regional Research: Jahrbuch für Regionalwissenschaft, Springer;Gesellschaft für Regionalforschung (GfR), vol. 42(3), pages 227-248, December.
    5. Michalopoulos, S & Rauh, C., 2024. "Movies," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 2412, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
    6. Brownlow, Graham & Colvin, Christopher L., 2022. "Economic history and the future of pedagogy in economics," QUCEH Working Paper Series 22-09, Queen's University Belfast, Queen's University Centre for Economic History.
    7. César Huaroto & Francisco Gallego, 2023. "The Legacy of the Spanish Conquista in the Andes: Mining Mita, Persistent Social Unrest, and Cultural Divergence," Documentos de Trabajo 568, Instituto de Economia. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile..

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    • B40 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Economic Methodology - - - General
    • N00 - Economic History - - General - - - General

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