The next annual meeting of the
Economic History Association (EHA) will take place in Columbus, Ohio, on September 12-14, 2014. The theme of the meeting will be "Political Economy and Economic History." The Program Committee (John Wallis, University of Maryland, chair, together with Dan Bogart, Karen Clay, and Tracy Dennison) welcomes submissions on all subjects in economic history, though some preference will be given to papers that specifically fit the theme. Papers should be submitted individually, but authors may suggest to the Committee that three particular papers fit well together in a panel. In considering the meeting theme, the organizers explain:
Politics has a massive impact on economic outcomes. States redistribute wealth, make up for market failures, and enact policies that can devastate an economy or promote long run growth. They also provide the essential public goods of security, the rule of law, and a means of exchange. Without these, life is brutal and trade little more than barter. But what determines the laws and regulations that states adopt and the public goods they furnish? How do states arise in the first place and gain the capacity to tax? What shapes the changes in their policies and their expenditures over time? Can we distinguish the political incentives that encourage good policies rather than tragic ones? Do the answers lie with endowments, the distribution of wealth, or deeply rooted institutions? Or are they to be sought in culture and the guiding hand of history?
Papers and session proposals should be submitted online at the EHA
submission system. Paper proposals should include a 3-5 page précis
and a 150-word abstract suitable for publication in the
Journal of
Economic History. Papers should be submitted by
January 31, 2014. For more details about the meeting, please consult the
full call for papers.
