Welcome to the Online Exhibition on Economic Growth and Inequality

The following entries are the result of individual research projects. They have been developed by students of the "History & Economics" program at the University of Bayreuth. The task was to investigate the state of research concerning historical studies on economic growth and inequalities for one particuar country, to assess critically and interpret the avaliable data in a coherent narrative, and to look for possible improvements in the future. The results are presented in the form of an online exhibition to reach a wider audience and to start an academic dialogue.

Collecting and evaluating statistical data on economic growth and inequality has always been a central issue in economic history. Over the past couple of years, major improvements have been made, not only in terms of data collection, but also regarding accessibility. There are now numerous websites that offer fairly reliable historical statistical estimates, such as the Maddison Project, the Jordà-Schularick-Taylor Macrohistory Database, and the World Inequality Database. This wealth of data, however, makes it all the more important to understand their origins and to discuss their meaning.

Therefore, the students were asked to look "behind the scenes" of statistical production in economic history, focusing on central concepts such as gross domestic product (GDP), living standards, wage inequality, and price indices. Some projects focused on the development of economic growth, others on inequality, including in countries such as China, but also countries usually not at the center of economic history debate, such as Singapore, South Africa, or Israel. The projects reveal the great complexity behind the numbers, but also the scope of possible interpretations and the need for more disaggregated perspectives when it comes to interpretation.