A fascinating window into the past has been opened with the release of newly-digitalised Economic History supplements of The Economic Journal.
First edited by John Maynard Keynes and Francis Ysidro Edgeworth, Economic History was published between 1926 – 1940. The archives are now available through Oxford University Press and contain articles covering studies in economic history and the history of economic thought.
Economic History launched in January 1926 with articles on topics including the ‘consumption of tobacco since 1660’ (by Alfred Rive) and ‘price control and the corn averages under the Corn Laws’ (by C.R. Fay). By 1940, Economic History was covering topics as diverse as the financial and administrative importance of the Knights Hospitallers to the English Crown (by Benjamin Bromberg) to a piece by Walt Whitman Rostow on ‘Explanations for the Great Depression, 1873-96’.
Economic History was established by J.M. Keynes in response to the formation of the Economic History Society in 1926 and the subsequent launch of the Economic History Review. The rivalry continued until 1940 when Economic History was discontinued due to paper shortages during the war.
The Economic Journal – one of the founding journals of modern economics – was first published in 1891. The journal continues to provide a platform for high quality and imaginative economic research, publishing papers in all fields of economics for a broad international readership.
Managing Editor of The Economic Journal, Professor Morten O. Ravn said:
“The digital release of these supplements to The Economic Journal provide a fascinating window into the development of economic history as a field in the early to middle part of the 20th century. The publications are now available through Oxford University Press.”
