By the end of the course, students will have developed a critical and informed understanding of the role of historical experiences in shaping regional and urban economic growth and development. They will learn how major economic theories in regional and urban economics are constructed, supported or challenged by historical empirical evidence, and how this process informs academic debates in economic history. The course equips students with knowledge of research methods and approaches used in historical regional and urban economics. This helps them to understand how past economic and social developments influence the present. The course has a comparative perspective o focusing on developements in different regions, countries and time periods. This historical perspective enriches research in other disciplines and provides valuable context for policy-making and business decisions. Students will also reflect on how their own views on economic and social issues are shaped by historical contexts. Regular discussions in English will help them articulate ideas clearly, appreciate diverse perspectives, and engage in meaningful dialogue across cultures—strengthening their ability to operate in international and interdisciplinary environments.

The course is divided into morning classes and afternoon classes. Students can miss two classes in the morning and two classes in the afternoon without justification, but missing more classes without strong and justified reasons that cannot be influenced by the students (i.e., work or travel is not one of them) will result in un-enrolment from the course. There is thus a requirement to attend at least 80% (9/11) of all classes.

Morning classes in weeks one, two and  seven to eleven introduce the general topic of the week. Students will be required to prepare material in advance, and after a short introduction participate actively in class discussions.

At the beginning of the first block of lectures, participants form groups of two students and select a topic for their first presentation. This presentation is based on a small empirical project conducted with historical data, for example from the Austrian Gazetteer of Places (“Österreichisches Ortslexikon”), the Bairoch city population dataset, or other sources. The aim of the project is to apply and test the ideas and concepts discussed in the introductory lectures. Student groups select a presentation date via Canvas (first come, first served). Presentations will last 15–20 minutes, followed by up to 10 minutes for questions and feedback.

At the beginning of the lecture (first week), the groups of two students also select a paper to present during one of the afternoon sessions in second block during weeks 7 to 11. The papers are designed to relate to and complement the topics covered in the morning lecture. Paper selection takes place via Canvas (first come, first served). Presentations last 20 minutes and are followed by a 10-minute class discussion. 

Building on the contents and insights from morning and afternoon classes students are required to hand in a final essay on a topic related to the content of the course.

Participation in discussions, etc. in morning and afternoon sessions: 25%

presentation of empirical project after first block of lectures: 25%

presentation of paper during block 2: 20 %

final essay: 30%

You will receive a max of 100 points for each component (so percentages are equal to points). The first part of oral participation will be graded and announced after week six and the then, the second part will be graded and announced after the end of the course (week eleven).

Grading:

90% or more of the points: 1 (excellent)

80% or more: 2 (good)

70% or more: 3 (satisfactory)

60% or more: 4 (sufficient)

less than 60%: 5 (fail)

None, except those stated in your study plans.

Special requisites for the waiting list apply because of a limited offer of Economic and Social History courses:

* Initially available places will be allocated during the registration period on a first-come, first-served basis.

* If you are unable to attend, please cancel your registration in order to free up your place for others on the waiting list!

* After the end of the registration period, available spots in the course will be increased to ca. 30 and students will be added based on the waiting list. No-shows in the first class will be replaced by present students in the order of the waiting list in the first session.

After the registration period, students from the waiting list, who don't yet have a valid registration, will be assigned to available places in the specific courses. This allotment is not based on a first-come first-served principle. Rather, progress in the studies will be the decisive criterion.

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This course combines insights from economic history and applied development economics. It combines insights from case studies (scientific papers) for different countries and time periods, which requires intellectual flexibility and occasional research to grasp the context of the papers and chapters in question. While there is no need (and little chance) to possess such comprehensive background knowledge beforehand, it is one of the aims of this course to foment the intellectual flexibility to use and transfer insights from one context to another. Students should therefore enrol in the course with a sufficiently open mind and openness to such challenges.

Furthermore, some (but clearly not all) of the texts we discuss use econometrics (statistics) to assess the validity of their arguments. While it is not necessary to be able to replicate tor understand the technical details, basic understanding of applied inferential statistics (regression analysis) is helpful to understand and process such texts for presentation. Students who do not feel sufficiently versed in such techniques should pay attention to the methods used in the different texts when signing up for the presentations (in week 1).

Office hours: On appointment (see contact emails).