EH.N: CfP: 2008 Economic History Association Meetings

[Jari Eloranta]

The 2008 Economic History Association Meetings

Hosted by Yale University
Omni New Haven Hotel at Yale
New Haven, Connecticut,

September 12-14, 2008

Alan L. Olmstead, President


"The Engines of Growth: Innovation, Creative 
Destruction, and Human Capital Accumulation"

The Program Committee for the 2008 Economic 
History Association Meetings -- Paul Rhode, 
University of Arizona (Chair); Werner Troesken, 
George Mason University; Tracy Dennison, 
California Institute of Technology; and Ken 
Pomeranz, University of California, Irvine -- 
welcomes proposals for individual papers, as well 
as for entire sessions. As is the rule, papers on 
all subjects in economic history are welcome, but 
a number of sessions will be devoted to the theme 
"The Engines of Growth: Innovation, Creative 
Destruction, and Human Capital Accumulation."

The analysis of the causes and consequences of 
economic growth is central to the study of 
economic history. Growth takes place in a legal, 
political, and social context and the innovations 
that drive growth are often opposed by vested 
interests that expect to lose from the changes. 
Creative Destruction, whereby revolutionary 
innovations both spawn entirely new ventures and 
undermine the value of existing investments, 
appears to be an inevitable part of the long-run 
growth process. Understanding the political 
economy of institutional change and innovation is 
of special interest. This is particularly true 
for human capital and information given their 
public good characteristics. The Program 
Committee invites papers and sessions on this 
theme dealing with experiences from a broad range 
of geographical regions, time periods, and 
institutional settings. 

Papers and session proposals should be submitted 
on line at: 
http://eh.net/eha/meetings/prop_08.php. The 
following rules and procedures apply. The due 
date is January 31, 2008. Paper proposals should 
include a 3-5 page précis and a 150-word abstract 
suitable for publication in the Journal of 
Economic History. By vote of the Board of 
Trustees, the corresponding author must be a 
current member of the Association (to join the 
Association, please go to http://eh.net/eha/). 
Papers should in all cases be work in progress 
rather than accepted or published work; 
submitters have a responsibility to let the 
program committee know if the proposed paper has 
been submitted for publication. Submissions for 
entire sessions should include no more than three 
papers and each proposal should be submitted 
separately. The committee reserves the right to 
determine which papers will be included in those 
sessions that are accepted. Finally, those who 
had a paper accepted by the regular program 
committee for the 2007 meeting (Austin) must wait 
two years before submitting again.

The dissertation session convened by Kevin 
O’Rourke (Trinity College, Dublin) and Zorina 
Khan (Bowdoin College) will honor six 
dissertations completed during the 2007-2008 
academic year. The submission deadline is June 1, 
2008. The Alexander Gerschenkron and Allan Nevins 
prizes will be awarded to the best dissertations 
on non-North American and North American topics. 
Note that students may not submit both to the 
dissertation session and the regular program, but 
there is a two year window within which a 
dissertation may be submitted for consideration.

Graduate students are encouraged to attend and 
the Association offers subsidies for travel, 
hotel, registration, and meals, including a 
special graduate student dinner. A poster session 
welcomes work from dissertations in progress.

For further information, including detailed 
travel options to New Haven, check the EHA 
meetings page (http://www.ehameeting.com), or 
contact Meetings Coordinator Jari Eloranta at 
<elorantaj at appstate.edu>.

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Jari Eloranta, Ph.D, Meetings Coordinator for the EHA
Assistant Professor of Comparative Economic and Business History
Appalachian State University
Department of History
325 University Drive
Old Library Building
Boone, NC 28608, USA

Phone: +1-828-262 6006
Email: elorantaj at appstate.edu
Web: http://www.appstate.edu/~elorantaj/