Seventy five years ago, the publication of John Steinbeck's novel The Grapes of Wrath shocked the world with its description of starvation in the midst of plenty. PhD candidate Rasheed Saleuddin is re-evaluating established views of the causes of the Great Depression and argues that there are lessons to be learned today.
For many years Paul Kosmetatos worked in the City of London’s financial sector, where he became fascinated by the unfolding of periodic crises. Today he’s doing a PhD at Cambridge University, looking at the events surrounding the banking panic of 1772.
The last 100 years have seen several governments introduce austerity measures to try to balance the books. Duncan Needham, a Phd candidate in the Centre for Financial History, compares past and present, concluding that current public spending cuts are inhibiting the growth we need.
The Corn Returns – market data from the 19th century and beyond – represent a valuable resource for economic historians looking at the emergence of modern agricultural markets. A project to make these records digitally available will help solve some of the big questions about the economics of the age.
Whether or not the planned intervention in the organisation of international banking sector succeeds, it will certainly impact on the City of London. Adrian Leonard, an Affiliate Researcher at the Centre for Financial History at Newnham College and the Centre for Risk Studies at Judge Business School, thinks his research into the history of the London insurance market offers hints for today’s policymakers.
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