Challenging our WEIRD perspective on African development

African History through the Lens of Economics, an innovative, open-access, online course which attracted over 27,000 people from across the world, explored how history has shaped and continues to influence domestic policies and economic development in Africa. A reflective essay by David Jones, MBA 2022 graduate from London Business School and intern at the Wheeler…

Leonard Wantchekon’s Personal Perspectives on African History and Economics

African History through the Lens of Economics: An introduction to African development and history Leonard Wantchekon, James Madison Professor of Political Economy and Professor of Politics and International Affairs at Princeton University and Founder and President of the African School of Economics and the Pan African Scientific Research Council, was a regular presence in the…

Political Organisation and Social Structure

African History through the Lens of Economics: An introduction to African development and history The Wheeler Institute’s open access online course, African History through the Lens of Economics, covered pre-colonial political organisation and contemporary social structures in two lectures, the first by Stelios Michalopoulos, Eastman Professor of Political Economy at Brown University, and Warren Whatley,…

Aid, latent assets and WEIRD societies: reasons to be optimistic about African development

African History through the Lens of Economics: An introduction to African development and history The Wheeler Institute’s open access online course, African History through the Lens of Economics, concluded with three plenary lectures covering the impact of foreign aid, the reasons why Africa can be optimistic about the future, and the importance of judging Africa…

The importance of education for economic development

African History through the Lens of Economics: An introduction to African development and history The penultimate lecture in the Wheeler Institute’s open access online course, African History through the Lens of Economics, considered the impact of education on social mobility in Africa. David Laitin, Professor of Political Science at Stanford University, Leonard Wantchekon, Professor of…

African Colonisation: Unpacking a Complex Phenomenon

African History through the Lens of Economics: An introduction to African development and history The Wheeler Institute’s open access online course, African History through the Lens of Economics, recently covered colonisation in three lectures with Elias Papaioannou, Academic Director of the Wheeler Institute for Business and Development, and Leonard Wantchekon, Professor of Politics and International…

How should we measure African development?

African History through the Lens of Economics: An introduction to African development and history In the second special lecture of the Wheeler Institute’s open access online course, African History through the Lens of Economics, Elias Papaioannou, Academic Director of the Wheeler Institute for Business and Development, and Tanner Regan, Research Fellow in Economics at London…

Resisting the stereotypes of an undeveloped, unchanging continent

African History through the Lens of Economics: An introduction to African development and history In the first session of the Wheeler Institute’s new ten-part open access online course, African History through the Lens of Economics, Christopher Ehret, Distinguished Research Professor at UCLA and author of a classic treatise on The Civilizations of Africa, gave a…