Students are expected to send their elaborates (2 essays, one for each 3 CFU module) to carlo.ciccarelli@uniroma2.it and jacobw@sam.sdu.dk  before the  agreed deadline for this course (20 June 2015).

Carlo Ciccarelli (module 1):

List of  questions for students:

Four possible empirical questions about regional economic growth and development in Italy:

1. Using the new regional estimates of industrial value added provided by Ciccarelli and Fenoaltea (2009, 2014 https://www.bancaditalia.it/pubblicazioni/altre-pubblicazioni-storiche/produzione-industriale-1861-1913/)  “rewrite” sections 5-8 of Chapter 6 of Fenoaltea (2001) book “The reinterpretation”.  Data have been given to student during the course. But feel free to email me if you need it: carlo.ciccarelli@uniroma2.it

2. Using the regional dataset above (see point 1)  illustrate the regional evolution of industrial divide during the 1861-1913 period.  You might focus on macro areas (such as North vs South), industrial aggregates (total industry, total manufacturing), or particular industrial sector that you believe are of particular interest (textile, engineering, chemical, etc.).  Even a paper about the industrial evolution of one (or a few) region(s) is in principle fine.

3. Long term regional development: using the data provided by Emanuele Felice  (https://www.mulino.it/edizioni/volumi/appendici/felice.pdf ) illustrate, as we did in the papers considered during the course, the long – term evolution of regional disparity in Italy .  You don’t have of course to focus necessarily on GDP or pcGDP.

4.  Any empirical question of your choice previous discussion with me.

Information about the essay

Students will pick one question among those questions that are outlined above. The length of the essay cannot exceed 5,000 words (excluding tables, graphs, and references). The essay should include:

• An introduction that briefly outlines: (1) the main scholar debate addressed in the essay; (2) how the debate is addressed (i.e. what data and methodologies are used, either by the student or in the literature surveyed); and finally (3) what the main point is that the student wishes to highlight vis-à-vis the debate.

• A section describing how the debate emerged, including a description of the seminal papers that fuelled the debate, and how they did this.

• A section description either the papers that represent the current research frontier in the debate, or – if the essay is databased – a description of how the data are used to contribution to the debate, as well as how the data contribute to the debate.

• A conclusion.

Jacob Weisdorf (module 2):

List of essay questions for students:

Five possible essay questions about African economic development in the long run:

1. Has colonialism been harmful or helpful to African economic development?
2. What is the role of geography in long-term African economic development?
3. What is the long-term role of female agency in African economic development?
4. What can we learn from studying long-term numeracy rates among Africans?
5. Can male heights inform us about African living standards in the past?

Alternative: two essay questions about economic development in Kampala, Uganda:

For these questions I provide the database used for the study:

Felix Meier zu Selhausen and Jacob Weisdorf (2015), ‘A Colonial Legacy of African Gender Inequality? Evidence from Christian Kampala, 1895-2011’, Economic History Review (forthcoming).

The data is provided in an excel file titled ‘African Data for Students’.

1. What are the determinates of long-term upward social mobility in among Christian Africans in Kampala?
2. Any question of your choice using the database.

Information about the essay

Students will pick one question among those questions that are outlined above. The length of the essay cannot exceed 5,000 words (excluding tables, graphs, and references). The essay should include:

• An introduction that briefly outlines: (1) the main scholar debate addressed in the essay; (2) how the debate is addressed (i.e. what data and methodologies are used, either by the student or in the literature surveyed); and finally (3) what the main point is that the student wishes to highlight vis-à-vis the debate.

• A section describing how the debate emerged, including a description of the seminal papers that fuelled the debate, and how they did this.

• A section description either the papers that represent the current research frontier in the debate, or – if the essay is databased – a description of how the data are used to contribution to the debate, as well as how the data contribute to the debate.

• A conclusion.

Students are expected to send their elaborates (2 essays, one for each 3 CFU module) to carlo.ciccarelli@uniroma2.it and jacobw@sam.sdu.dk  before the  agreed deadline for this course (20 June 2015).