Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/227315 
Year of Publication: 
2020
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 13788
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
The use of historical data has become a standard tool in economics, serving three main purposes: to examine the influence of the past on current economic outcomes; to use unique natural experiments to test modern economic theories; and to use modern economic theories to refine our understanding of important historical events. In this chapter, we provide a comprehensive analysis of the types of historical data most commonly used in economic research and discuss a variety of issues that they raise, such as the constant change in national and administrative borders; the reshuffling of ethnic groups due to migration, colonialism, natural disasters, and many other forces. We also point out which methodological advances allow economists to overcome or minimize these problems.
Subjects: 
historical data
geographical data
ethnographic data
censuses
JEL: 
N0
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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