Historical Economics and Development Group (HEDG) at SDU is a small but lively research group that treats economic history as an open-ended investigation rather than a dusty archive sport. The group brings together economists, historians, and kindred scholars who enjoy working with big historical datasets, new quantitative methods, and the long sweep of social change. Its work ranges from the dynamics of education, migration, and institutions to comparative studies of development and democracy, often using microdata and digital tools to rethink familiar stories.

The group is led by Professor Paul Sharp and is anchored in the Department of Economics at the University of Southern Denmark. It collaborates widely across the humanities and social sciences, building a space where archival insight, narrative skill, and rigorous empirical work belong together.

Since its establishment in 2011, HEDG has been one of the fastest growing groups within growth, development and economic history and is arguably one of the leading groups in Europe. The work carried out by the group can be described as quantitative, empirical work. The research of the group often focuses on evaluating the effect of an intervention on economic development, for example the impact of health improvements on long-term growth and assessing the impact of agricultural productivity on development.

Our research can be broadly characterized into four main topics:
Education and Social Mobility
Arts and Creativity
Big Data
Health and Public Health Interventions

Our previous research highlights can be found here.