I am a professor of economic history at the Sapienza University of Rome, a research fellow at the CEPR in London, a research associate of the CAGE in Warwick, and a research affiliate at the Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa. I have a doctoral degree in economics from the University of Copenhagen and one in economic history from Lund University. My research interests concern the forces that led to the wealth of nations. My studies consider England (the cradle of the industrial revolution), Italy and France (industrial runner-ups), and sub-Saharan Africa (a still-to-come region). I currently work on a project that investigates the impact of colonialism on gender inequality using historical marriage data from Africa; one that explores the labour market causes and consequences of technological progress using French 19th-century steam engines; and one that estimates the labour inputs of women and children across six centuries of English history. I also organise the Sound Workshop and the WEast Workshop.
Recent publications (full list avaiable at: sites.google.com/view/jacobweisdorf/papers):
Sara Horrell, Jane Humphries, and Jacob Weisdorf (2019), ‘Family standards of living over the long run, England 1280-1850’, Past & Present (forthcoming) [WP]
Alessandro Nuvolari, Sandra de Pleijt and Jacob Weisdorf (2019), ‘Human Capital Formation During the First Industrial Revolution: Evidence from the Use of Steam Engines,’ Journal of the European Economic Association (early view) [PDF] [WP] [Vox blog]
Shane Doyle, Felix Meier zu Selhausen and Jacob Weisdorf (2019), ‘The Blessing of Medicine? Patient Characteristics and Health Outcomes in a Ugandan Mission Hospital, 1908-1970,’ Social History of Medicine (early view) [PDF] [WP]
Carlo Ciccarelli and Jacob Weisdorf (2019), ‘Pioneering into the Past: Regional Literacy Developments in Italy before Italy’, European Review of Economic History (early view) [PDF] [DP]
Jane Humphries and Jacob Weisdorf (2019), ‘Unreal Wages? Real Income and Economic Growth in England, 1260-1850’, Economic Journal 129, pp. 2867–2887 [PDF] [WP] [Data]
David de la Croix, Eric Schneider, and Jacob Weisdorf (2019), ‘Childlessness, Celibacy, and Net Fertility in Pre-Industrial England: the Middle Class Evolutionary Advantage’, Journal of Economic Growth 24, pp. 223–256 (lead article) [PDF] [WP]
Francesco Cinnirella, Marc Klemp, and Jacob Weisdorf (2019), ‘Further Evidence of Within-Marriage Fertility Control in Pre-Industrial England’, Demography 56, pp. 1557–1572 [PDF] [WP]
Marc Klemp and Jacob Weisdorf (2019), ‘Fecundity, Fertility, and the Formation of Human Capital’, Economic Journal 129, pp. 925–960 [open access: PDF]
