Welcome to the homepage of the International Economic History Association (IEHA). The IEHA is an organization composed of national, regional and international associations in the field of economic history, broadly defined, and other related disciplines. It currently has 45 member organizations from almost 40 countries around the world. Today the seat of the Association is in Utrecht, the Netherlands. The aims of the IEHA are to promote the development and diffusion of economic history worldwide, through the organization of a World Congress every three years, amongst other activities. Originally founded in 1960, the IEHA played a prominent role during the Cold War era in uniting scholars from across Europe, the Soviet Union, and North America, along with smaller numbers from Japan, Australia and New Zealand, and 'Third World' countries. In recent decades, the IEHA has evolved as the global forum for economic historians worldwide, with each Congress attracting over 1,000 participants, and with increasing participation from the developing world. The IEHA held a World Congress in Latin America for the first time in 2002 at Buenos Aires, Argentina, and in Africa for the first time in 2012 at Stellenbosch, South Africa. Another recent World Congress took place for the first time in Asia, at Kyoto, Japan, 3-7 August 2015. The latest one was held In Boston, Massachusetts (USA) in 2018., with Paris, France in 2022 yet to come.
Statement on the Postponement of the Paris World Economic History Congress:
To the global economic history community: We would like to clarify some aspects of the delay of the Paris WEHC to 2022. First, our apologies for the delay in sending this communication, but certain details required confirmation prior to dissemination. We would like to thank you all for your flexibility and patience during these difficult times. Second, the Executive Council (EC) decided to move the WEHC to 2022 not because we are anticipating similar difficulties as at present. Rather, 1) it gives the Paris organizers more time to complete certain tasks that have been delayed due to the Covid-19 outbreak; 2) many international conferences were moved to 2021 which will make it rather crowded with conferences; 3) typically we would have had this year as a year of pre-conferences and preparations, this move makes our cycle of activities more “normal” in a sense; 4) travel budgets might be tight for many institutions around the world next year, due to the budgetary pressures arising from the corona responses. Thus, it made sense to move our Congress to summer of 2022. After that, we expect to resume the normal three-year cycle, and the following WEHC will take place in 2025.
Furthermore, the EC also decided to delay the 2nd round of session proposals to September 2020. That will provide scholars some more time to put together sessions prior to the deadline. The EC will review the proposals and meet for other matters either at the end of 2020 or early 2021. In addition, we have decided to postpone all other deadlines (dissertations and posters; proposals from national organizations to replace EC members; proposals to host WEHC 2025) to 2021, with precise deadlines announced early in 2021. Thus, we will be asking the current EC members that are due to rotate off the EC to stay on for an extra year. If any have difficulty in doing so, we will consult the relevant national organization for an earlier replacement.
We are on track to have a wonderful conference in Paris in 2022. We as an organization hope that these decisions do not inconvenience you too much. Difficult situations call for complex solutions, and we have done our best to provide them. We sincerely hope that you stay healthy and safe, and that we will see each other in the many pre-conferences in 2021 and ultimately in 2022 in Paris.
Cordially,
Anne McCants, President of the IEHA
Jari Eloranta, Secretary-General of the IEHA
The 2021 WEHC will take place in in Paris in 2022 (note the change!). The Call for Sessions is open (see below).
http://www.wehc2021.org/en/call-for-sessions/
From July 25-July 30, 2022, Campus Condorcet in Paris will host the 19th triennial World Economic History Congress. The whole Paris committee is now working on the next congress and is very excited to offer you a great experience in France in 2022. From now on, you can follow us on Facebook [www.facebook.com/WEHC2021], Twitter [@WEHC2021], and on our website [http://www.wehc2021.org/].
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The International Economic History Association will begin to consider bids for the 2024 World Congress of Economic History from January 1, 2020 onwards. These bids are typically submitted by the national/regional academic organizations, and the bid should include a comprehensive booklet outlining the various aspects of the bid. The Secretary-General of the organization, Jari Eloranta (iehaofficial@gmail.com) can offer further details on this process as well as sample bids to the interested organizations. The deadline for the 2024 bid will be June 30, 2021.
Click here for the 2017 newsletter of the International Economic History Association.
