BSc Economics and Economic History

To tackle today’s current global economic problems, we need to understand how economies have developed and changed over time.

This programme explores some of the biggest questions we face – such as why some countries are rich and others poor, what forces shape inequality, and what historical evidence can tell us about economic crises through history.

Drawing on both quantitative and qualitative perspectives, you’ll learn how to apply economic theory and methods to understand the historical development of economies around the world – from medieval times through to the present day.

Likewise, you’ll use real-world historical evidence to deepen your understanding of economic concepts and learn about different research methodologies and analysing primary sources.

At LSE, we have one of the largest groups of economic historians in the world so we can offer an incredibly broad choice of courses. As you progress through the degree, you’ll develop a wide array of transferable skills that will open the doors to a range of fulfilling careers.

Economic history

• R C Allen Global Economic History: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press, 2011)
• R C Allen The British Industrial Revolution in Global Perspective (Cambridge University Press, 2009)
• G Clark A Farewell to Alms: a brief economic history of the world (Princeton University Press, 2007)
• N F R Crafts and P Fearon The Great Depression of the 1930s: lessons for today (Oxford University Press, 2013)
• S L Engerman and K L Sokoloff Economic Development in the Americas since 1500: endowments and institutions (Cambridge University Press, 2012)
• C Goldin and L Katz The Race between Education and Technology (Harvard University Press, 2008)
• J Humphries Childhood and Child Labour in the British Industrial Revolution (Cambridge University Press, 2010)
• D C North, J J Wallis and B Weingast Violence and Social Orders: a conceptual framework for interpreting recorded human history (Cambridge University Press, 2009)
• S Ogilvie Institutions and European Trade: merchant guilds, 1000–1800 (Cambridge University Press, 2011)
• K H O’Rourke and J G Williamson Globalization and History: the evolution of a nineteenth century Atlantic economy (MIT Press, 1999)
• K Pomeranz The Great Divergence: China, Europe and the making of the modern world economy (Princeton University Press, 2000)
• C M Reinhart and K S Rogoff This Time Is Different: eight centuries of financial folly (Princeton University Press, 2009)
• B Yun-Casalilla and P K O’Brien The Rise of Fiscal States: a global history, 1500–1914 (Cambridge University Press, 2011)

Economics

• A V Banerjee and E Duflo Poor Economics: barefoot hedge-fund managers, DIY doctors and the surprising truth about life on less than $1 a day (Penguin, 2012)
• T Harford The Undercover Economist (Abacus, 2007)
• T Harford The Logic of Life (Little Brown, 2009)
• P Krugman End This Depression Now! (W W Norton, 2012)
• S D Levitt and S J Dubner Freakonomics (Penguin, 2007)
• S D Levitt and S J Dubner Superfreakonomics(Penguin, 2010)

The UK launch of these books was held at LSE and a podcast of these authors speaking in the Old Theatre, along with many other talks, is available at lse.ac.uk/podcasts

It's also a very good idea to have a look at one or more economics textbooks, to have a clear idea of what the serious university study of the subject involves, which will differ from these popular presentations. Although the texts and editions listed below are currently recommended for the first year, other editions of these books and other university-level textbooks are also entirely valid for this first investigation.

• N G Mankiw Macroeconomics (7th edition, Worth Publishers, 2010)
• W Morgan, M L Katz and H Rosen Microeconomics (2nd edition, McGraw-Hill, 2009)