PhD Course: Historical Perspectives on Current Economics Issues: Big Data and Applications
HEDG and Department of Economics, University of Southern Denmark
10-21 August 2026
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Course topic
This year’s summer school is organized around the theme “Populism, Uncertainty, and the Globalized Economy”. We examine the political economy of a globalizing world through the lens of economic history. As globalization has become an increasingly contested issue in contemporary politics, it is essential to look to historical experience to gain perspective on present developments.
The summer school provides an introduction to the political economy of globalization and the effects of trade over the past 200 years. It also introduces students to cutting-edge machine learning tools for big data in economic history. Taken together, the program demonstrates how economic history can inform the most pressing challenges facing modern economies while equipping participants with a cutting-edge toolkit in machine learning and quantitative analysis.
As keynote speaker, we welcome Markus Lampe (University of Vienna), a leading economic historian of the political economy of trade and globalization. In his lectures, he will examine the political economy of the globalized economy and the historical development of trade and tariffs. The theme will be complemented by additional lectures addressing “Populism, Uncertainty, and the Globalized Economy” as well as interactive seminars on the application of machine-learning methods in economic history.
Course Procedure
The course is offered as part of the SDU International Summer School 2026 and is available in two formats.
One-week core course (5 ECTS).
This format is designed for PhD students and focuses on the keynote lectures and an introduction to machine-learning tools for economic history.
Two-week extended course (10 ECTS).
This format is open to master’s and PhD students. It prepares master’s and PhD students for the process of writing a master’s (PhD) thesis which explicitly recognizes the role of history for current economic outcomes and debates, as well as the importance of frontier quantitative methods. Additional sessions cover academic writing as well as causal and quantitative analysis.
The course will be held physically. Living costs are at the student’s expense.
Instructors
The leading lecturer – Markus Lampe (Professor), University of Vienna
Paul Sharp (Professor), University of Southern Denmark
Sophie Yiwen Li (Assistant professor)
Christian Vedel (Assistant Professor), University of Southern Denmark
Torben Skov Dyg Johansen (Assistant Professor), University of Southern Denmark
Julius Koschnick (Assistant Professor), University of Southern Denmark
(list to be extended)
Exam
The exam will of a home assignment exam, which can be done individually or in groups of up to three students. The home assignment will consist of a critical review of a research article or an independent research project. The Exam will last 72 hours for the 10 ECTS class and 35 hours for the 5 ECTS class. Physical presence is required throughout the course.
ECTS Points
Upon completing all course activities, all participants will be awarded 10 ECTS or 5 ECTS credits depending on which track they chose as well as a course certificate.
Course Fees
The course is free of charge for the students from AAU, AU, KU, CBS and SDU. For other participants, the course fee is EUR 300.
Registration
Deadline for registration: The deadline is on the 1st of July 2026.
Sign up here.