The Economic and Social History group at Utrecht University studies worldwide economic and social developments, including fundamental transitions as well as periods of crises, from the Middle Ages to the present. We study urgent present-day societal challenges such as inequality, inclusive institutions and the relationship between people and the environment in a historical perspective. In doing so, we make comparisons over time and between regions including Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America.
Our research programme is subdivided into three different clusters: Inequality and Development, Sustainability and Environmental Change and Innovation and Institutions.
The Economic and Social History blog is written by our PhDs, PostDocs, lecturers and professors, as well as our students.
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Bas van Bavel talks about the development of societies: which institutional conditions are needed to make a good society?
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Our researchers participate in various national and international interdiscipinary projects and research networks.
