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Who writes African economic history?

Author

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  • Johan Fourie

    (LEAP, Department of Economics, Stellenbosch University)

Abstract

Much has been said about the rise, or `renaissance', of African economic history. What has received far less attention is who is producing this research. Using a complete dataset of articles in the top four economic history journals, I document the rise in African economic history in the last two decades. I show that although there has indeed been an increase in papers on Africa, it has included little work by Africans. I then attempt to explain why this is so, and motivate why this should matter. The good news is that, mostly owing to efforts by the academic community, more is being done to encourage African inclusion. I conclude with a few suggestions on how to make more African scholars part of the renaissance of African economic history.

Suggested Citation

  • Johan Fourie, 2019. "Who writes African economic history?," Working Papers 09/2019, Stellenbosch University, Department of Economics.
  • Handle: RePEc:sza:wpaper:wpapers323
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Simplice A. Asongu & Oasis Kodila†Tedika, 2017. "Is Poverty in the African DNA (Gene)?," South African Journal of Economics, Economic Society of South Africa, vol. 85(4), pages 533-552, December.
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    5. Johan Fourie, 2015. "The data revolution in African economic history," Working Papers 555, Economic Research Southern Africa.
    6. Daniel S. Hamermesh, 2018. "Citations in Economics: Measurement, Uses, and Impacts," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 56(1), pages 115-156, March.
    7. Simplice A. Asongu & Jacinta C. Nwachukwu, 2017. "The Comparative Inclusive Human Development of Globalisation in Africa," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 134(3), pages 1027-1050, December.
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    9. Gareth Austin & Stephen Broadberry, 2014. "Introduction: The renaissance of African economic history," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 67(4), pages 893-906, November.
    10. Sarah Cummings & Paul Hoebink, 2017. "Representation of Academics from Developing Countries as Authors and Editorial Board Members in Scientific Journals: Does this Matter to the Field of Development Studies?," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 29(2), pages 369-383, April.
    11. Johan Fourie & Leigh Gardner, 2014. "The Internationalization of Economic History: A Puzzle," Economic History of Developing Regions, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(1), pages 1-14, June.
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    13. repec:hal:pseose:halshs-01157487 is not listed on IDEAS
    14. Johan Fourie & Nonso Obikili, 2019. "Decolonizing with data: The cliometric turn in African economic history," Working Papers 02/2019, Stellenbosch University, Department of Economics.
    15. Doyle, Shane & Meier zu Selhausen, Felix & Weisdorf, Jacob, 2019. "The Blessings of Medicine? Patient Characteristics and Health Outcomes in a Ugandan Mission Hospital, 1908-1970," African Economic History Working Paper 45/2019, African Economic History Network.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Asgari, Heshmatolah & Moridian, Ali, 2023. "Investigating the Role of Human Capital and Shadow Economy in the Impact of Natural Resource Rent on Income Inequality with Regime Change (in Persian)," The Journal of Planning and Budgeting (٠صلنامه برنامه ریزی و بودجه), Institute for Management and Planning studies, vol. 28(4), pages 75-110, December.
    3. Désiré Avom & Louis de Berquin Eyike Mbongo, 2020. "La diffusion des TIC ameliore‐t‐elle qualitativement les institutions politiques en Afrique?," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 32(3), pages 419-431, September.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    economic history; Africa; bibliometric; citations;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • N01 - Economic History - - General - - - Development of the Discipline: Historiographical; Sources and Methods

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