I combine economics and history to better understand the performance of firms, industries, economies and societies. I am particularly interested in learning from historical policy mistakes.
I also conduct pedagogical research on ways to integrate economic history into the economics curriculum. My book, An Economist's Guide to Economic History (co-edited with Matthias Blum), is available in paperback or eBook.
Outreach
Mind Your Language! Why did Irish, the indigenous language of Ireland, fall into disuse in the nineteenth century? In a QUCEH working paper co-authored with Alan Fernihough and Eoin McLaughin, we use the 1901 census to uncover that it is all about schooling. But not centrally-planned state-directed education policy. Read the working paper here.
Economic History at the Pub As part of the Centre for Economics, Policy and History, I have been part of a team to take economic history into the pub. Watch our latest gig here:
Historical Lessons for Ukraine I have written an op-ed together with Eoin McLaughlin and Matthias Blum on the lessons from past experiences of famine (including in Ukraine) for policymakers today. It is published in The Conversation. We wrote a follow-up piece for RTÉ Brainstorm focusing on the growing food security crisis.
Policy Lessons from Ireland's Past A series of policy briefings published by the Economics Observatory explore policy lessons from Ireland's past. They were commissioned to coincide with Northern Ireland's centenary.
Why Economic History? I was interviewed about my views on the purpose of economic history for economists by Seán Kenny for his Economic History Podcast. You can listen to the interview here.
Demography and Influenza-18 Eoin McLaughlin and I have a pre-print working paper on the demographic impact of the Spanish flu in Ireland.