The number of original articles published in Indian economic history shows a boom in the 1980s ending in a recession from the 1990s. The paper surveys the evolution of the field and explores the reasons behind these tendencies. It concludes that the trends reflect shifts in the popularity of...

How did South Asian societies rebuild their economies following natural disasters? Based on five episodes from colonial India, this article suggests that between the mid-nineteenth and the mid-twentieth century, the response to disasters changed from laissez-faire to more state intervention....

The article explores the link between international economic integration and technological capability in colonial India. The example of the iron industry shows that many new ideas and skills flowed into India from Europe, but not all met with commercial success. The essay suggests a reason why....