International Economic History Association

International Economic History Association
Name	International Economic History Association
Formation	1960
Type	Learned society
Headquarters	Geneva
Region served	Worldwide
Leader title	President

Contents

International Economic History Association

The International Economic History Association (IEHA) is a global learned society bringing together scholars of World War II-era reconstruction, Great Depression-era policy, and comparative studies of Industrial Revolution regions. Founded amid Cold War debates over development and Marshall Plan legacies, the association links historians who study episodes such as the British Empire industrialization, Meiji Restoration modernization, and Ottoman Empire fiscal reforms. It fosters connections among researchers working on topics related to the Gold Standard, Bretton Woods Conference, Latin American debt crisis, and regional transformations in East Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Soviet Union successor states.

History and founding

The association was established by a cohort of scholars influenced by debates at meetings including the International Congress of Historical Sciences and exchanges between members of the Economic History Society, Economic History Association (United States), and the Royal Historical Society. Early founders included participants with ties to institutions such as London School of Economics, Harvard University, University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, and University of Chicago, reacting to comparative work on the Great Depression, Interwar period, and postwar reconstruction shaped by the League of Nations. Initial conferences engaged specialists on the Industrial Revolution, Colonialism, Transatlantic slave trade, and monetary regimes like the Classical Gold Standard.

The association is governed by an executive committee composed of officers elected at its general assemblies, modeled after governance in societies such as the International Sociological Association, American Historical Association, and Royal Economic Society. Officers have often been drawn from universities with strong economic history centers including Princeton University, University of California, Berkeley, Yale University, University of Toronto, and Sciences Po. The constitution outlines roles for a president, secretary-general, treasurer, and regional vice-presidents representing areas like East Asia, Europe, Latin America, Africa, and Oceania. Advisory committees have included scholars affiliated with the Leibniz Institute for European History, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, and national academies such as the British Academy and the National Academy of Sciences.

The association organizes triennial world congresses patterned after earlier gatherings such as the International Economic Association meetings and thematic conferences inspired by episodes like the Second Industrial Revolution and the Oil Crisis of 1973. Congress locations have included cities with major historical archives: Geneva, Paris, Berlin, Tokyo, Buenos Aires, Johannesburg, and Singapore. Program themes have ranged from studies of the Agrarian History of regions like Iberian Peninsula and Andean Region to analyses of the Railway age and the Information Age. The association collaborates with bodies like the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the European Historical Economics Society, and national committees such as the German Historical Institute and the Japanese Economic Association.

The association sponsors publication series and journals in partnership with presses and societies including Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, and the Economic History Review. It supports edited volumes on topics such as the Silver Standard, Mercantilism, Trade liberalization after 1945, and comparative studies of Urbanization in cities like London, New York City, Mumbai, and Shanghai. Research initiatives have promoted digitization of archival sources from repositories like the National Archives (UK), the Library of Congress, the Bibliothèque nationale de France, and the Russian State Archive. Collaborative projects have linked centers such as the Centre for Economic Policy Research, the International Monetary Fund research department, and university labs at Stanford University and University of Melbourne.

Membership comprises individual historians and institutional affiliates from national committees modeled after groups like the American Economic Association, the Economic History Society (UK), the French Economic History Association, the Brazilian Economic History Association, and the Australian Economic History Society. National committees coordinate regional activities involving scholars from universities such as Universidade de São Paulo, Peking University, University of Cape Town, Aarhus University, and Seoul National University. Membership categories include student, individual, and institutional levels, with liaison roles connecting to bodies like the International Labour Organization and national research councils including the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.

The association confers prizes and recognition modeled on awards such as the Heilbroner Prize, the Leverhulme Prize, and national honors like the Order of Merit (United Kingdom), recognizing outstanding monographs on topics including the Atlantic triangular trade, Industrial policy in East Asia, and contributions to understanding the Long 19th Century. Prize committees include scholars from institutions like Columbia University, École des hautes études en sciences sociales, Humboldt University of Berlin, and the University of Amsterdam. Recipients have conducted influential work on subjects like the Tulip Mania, the South Sea Bubble, the Opium Wars, and the global impacts of the Spanish flu pandemic.

Category:Learned societies Category:Historical societies