Founding

At the height of the Cold War in 1960, the IEHA was founded to unite scholars in Western Europe, the United States, and the Soviet Union.^[4][5] Among economists there were concerns of spurring and sustaining economic growth in many economic history departments in the United Kingdom and the United States. Similarly, Alexander Gerschenkron sought to build on Rostow's stages of economic growth with his research on economic backwardness.^[6] At the same time, the founding of the IEHA originally stemmed from the work of Fernand Braudel and Immanuel Wallerstein on economic growth in early modern Europe.^[7][8] Throughout the twentieth century, the IEHA gradually grew in size and the number of papers presented.^[9]

In 1968, the member organizations of the IEHA convened for the first meeting outside of Europe. The fourth meeting met in Bloomington, Indiana, United States.^[10]

By 2012, the organization expanded its global approach to the discipline by hosting its first conference outside of Europe. Around 750 attendees from 55 countries attended the World Economic History Congress in Stellenbosch, South Africa.^[11][12] European scholars at the conference were more interested in the North–south divide, thus facilitating the developing of African economic history as a whole.^[13] The conference was, in part, organized by the African Agenda, and boosted tourism to the local community.^[14] Academics have noted that the hosting of the Congress in Stellenbosch positioned the country to become one of the leading cenrtres of economic history on the African continent.^[15] The opening address, delivered by Minister of Finance Pravin Gordhan, recognized the economic and political potential that the conference had for the South African economy.^[16]

The first Congress to convene in Asia took place in Kyoto, Japan in August 2015.^[17] Presentations focused less on European economies and more on Latin American and Asian economies.^[18] The meeting thus presented an important moment, not just for economic history, but also for global history.^[19] The conference led to the publication of Jörg Baten's A History of the Global Economy: 1500 to the Present (2016) that, according to one reviewer "was commissioned by the International Economic History Association and the editor states that his aim is to organize a 'non-Eurocentric history' that presents 'economic history in a balanced way.'"^[20]

In recent years, the organization has returned its focus to present-day questions. In 2018, President Anne McCants spoke of the importance of understanding globalization: its origins, its effects on inequality, and the importance of big data.^[21] At the congress, held in Boston, Massachusetts French economist Thomas Piketty (École des hautes études en sciences sociales) and author of Capital in the Twenty-First Century described the World Economic History Congress as "one of the few places in the world where economists and historians talk to each other, and we truly need this interdisciplinary approach."^[22] The IEHA produces an annual bulletin of conferences and meetings for economic historians.^[23]

Leadership

Former Presidents of the IEHA include:

• 1965–1968: Frederic Chapin Lane
• 1968–1974: Kristof Glamann
• 1974–1978: Peter Mathias
• 1978–1982: Zsigmond Pál Pach
• 1982–1986: Jean-François Bergier
• 1986–1990: Herman Van der Wee
• 1994–1998: Gabriel Tortella
• 1998–2002: Roberto Cortés Conde
• 2002–2006: Richard Sutch
• 2006–2009: Riitta Hjerppe
• 2012–2015: Grietjie Verhoef
• 2015–2018: Tetsuji Okazaki
• 2018–2021: Anne McCants

Former Secretary Generals of the IEHA include:

• 1998–2006: Jan Luiten van Zanden
• 2006–2012: Jörg Baten
• 2012–2015: Debin Ma
• 2018–2021: Jari Eloranta

Membership

The IEHA comprises 45 member organizations, including the following.