Forskargruppen består av Joacim Waara och Svante Prado, båda forskare inom ekonomisk historia på Handelshögskolan vid Göteborgs universitet, samt Erik Bengtsson, post-doc i ekonomisk historia, Lunds universitet.
Resan går först till Uruguay där forskargruppen presenterar ny forskning vid konferensen VI Jornadas de Historia Económica. I Uruguay genomför de också en tredagars doktorandkurs vid Universidad de la República i Montevideo. Kursen består av tre olika teman; Industrialization, growth and structural transformation, där Svante Prado undervisar, Inequality, labour markets and the welfare state, där Erik Bengtsson är lärare, samt Migration där Joacim Waara undervisar.
I Brasilien är forskarna med på en workshop i Sao Paulo. Detta är det första mötet med University of Sao Paulo, som syftar till initiering av forskningsprojektet samt undervisningssamarbete mellan personal från institutionen från ekonomi och samhälle och personal från University of Sao Paulo.
Abstract: “Poles apart: a long-term perspective on inequality, industrialization and labour market institutions in Brazil and Sweden”
This collaboration between a group of Brazilian and Swedish economic historians aims to further our understanding of why the two countries set out on different pathways with regard to income distribution and long-term economic growth. The comparative approach the project applies promises to cast fresh light on why Brazil became unequal and lagged behind the developed countries during much of the twentieth century.
The project directs the searchlights towards two comparative areas that have bearings on the abysmal growth and inequality records of Brazil: the manufacturing industry and labour market institutions. To achieve our research objectives we break down the overarching research theme into eight specific areas each of which will form a chapter to appear in an edited volume. Two joint workshops secure a thorough treatment of each chapter of the book. Besides our research objectives, the collaboration also aims to make sure that the academic field of economic history continues to accommodate the global and comparative dimensions. To achieve this aim each country’s host department invites participating scholars from the other to lecture on topics like modern Scandinavian economic history and development patterns in less developed countries and assist in supervision of master and PhD students.