Department

Economic History began to be taught at the University of Barcelona during the course of 1954-55, precisely at the time when the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration was created. The responsibility of getting this new subject under way fell into the hands of Professor Jaume Vicens Vives. This Professor was considered to be one of the most important innovators in the field of Spanish History after the Civil War, and a pioneer in the introduction of research and teaching of Economic History in Spain. When he died in 1960 his disciples continued the task he had begun in Catalonia, with the help and influence of the great French historian Pierre Vilar. Later in 1981, research and teaching in Economic History at the University of Barcelona were given a new breath when Jordi Nadal, who was one of Vicens Vives closest collaborators, was appointed again as full professor of the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration. The following year, the Department of Economic History and Institutions was formed, and Jordi Nadal was chosen as its Head until he retired in 1999. This new Department also included Ernest Lluch, considered to be one the leading Spanish specialists in the field of History of Economic Thought at the time.

Throughout its long life the Department of Economic History and Institutions has been regarded to be one of the most active and innovative centres in Economic History in Catalonia and Spain. It is well known not only for the research developed in the fields of history of industry and finance, business history, agrarian and environmental history, and studies on globalization and long-term inequality, but on its graduate and postgraduate courses as well. Currently, it teaches various courses offered in the degrees of Economics, Business Administration and Management, Sociology, Political Science, Public Policies and Labour Relations. In 2007 the Department created its own research institute called Centre d'Estudis Antoni de Capmany. The Revista de Historia Industrial, one of the leading journal in the field, has been published by this Department since 1992. It has created, jointly with the Department of Economics and buy Cialis 20mg Economic History of the Autonomous University of Barcelona, the Interuniversity Doctorate Programme on Economic History and Institutions. This PhD programme, which has attracted students from various countries in Europe and Latin America since 1991, has been recognized by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Education for its high quality, and has offered students the possibility of writing a wealth of PhD thesis.