Quantitative Methods and Economic Statistical Sources for African History
Quantitative Methods and Economic Statistical Sources for African History
- Morten JervenMorten JervenCenter for African Studies, University of Edinburgh; Department of Economic History, Lund University; Department of International Environment and Development Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences
Summary
The mode of enquiry in African economic history has changed quite radically in recent years. In 1987, Patrick Manning surveyed practices and databases in African economic history and compared empirical strategies of scholars who studied the African past. Current practice, which A. G. Hopkins called “new African economic history,” incorporates econometric methods. The specific methods chosen and the types of source material used have implications for what kind of questions are asked and how they can be answered. The dominant mode of research in current African economic history, responding to some of the new challenges posed by econometric work by economists, is to create new data sets and databases that allow more consistent analysis of economic change over time.
Subjects
- Economic History
- Historiography and Methods
