Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/335019 
Year of Publication: 
2026
Series/Report no.: 
QUCEH Working Paper Series No. 26-01
Publisher: 
Queen's University Centre for Economic History (QUCEH), Belfast
Abstract: 
We define applied economic history as the systematic use of historical reasoning to address economic policy problems. Building on work in applied history, we argue that economic history contributes to policy not by offering ready-made lessons, but by disciplining the narratives and analogies that policymakers and the public use. Unlike conventional economic history, which begins with a past episode and asks explanatory questions, an applied approach starts from a current problem and works backwards to identify relevant historical parallels. Selecting cases, however, is only the first step: their policy relevance depends on the narratives through which they are interpreted and put to use. We synthesise work from narrative economics, organisational history, and media and memory studies to clarify how historical narratives are conceptualised as shaping beliefs and behaviour, but also how they mislead when stripped of context. Applied economic history therefore requires careful narrative construction, standards for comparison, attention to difference as well as similarity, and transparency about uncertainty. We conclude by outlining how changes to training, incentives, and institutions could support engagement by economic historians with policymaking.
Subjects: 
applied economic history
analogical reasoning
policymaking
narrative economics
JEL: 
B41
D78
H11
N01
Z13
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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