The theme for EHA 2021 is “Rules, Organizations, and Governments: Institutions and Economic History.” Over the last two and a half centuries the economies of the world have dramatically transformed. Part of these transformations occurred in and resulted from technology, demography, and markets. Part of these transformations occurred in and resulted from institutions. The way societies organize themselves, in both public and private spheres, exhibits marked patterns across the range of developed and developing nations. While we know what the patterns are, as economic historians and social scientists generally, we have struggled to understand how the patterns developed or how we might induce the patterns of developed societies in developing (or undeveloped) societies. The program committee calls for papers that take a more granular approach to questions related to institutions, collective decision making, and rules that originate in organizations. Organizations ranging from families, to businesses, to governments (which are organizations of organizations) all adopt rules, whether they enforce them or not. How these rules and organizations interact determines the institutional structure of all societies. Proposed papers on all areas of economic history are welcome and graduate students are encouraged to attend.

The meeting will be held in Tucson, Arizona.