Network Analysis for Economic, Business and Financial History
Description
This book presents a state-of-the-art picture of advances in social network research for economic, business, and financial historians. It showcases recent development in the methodology and application of social network analysis to historical research and draws out the unique benefits for economic history and related fields.
Social network analysis is increasingly understood to be an important part of historical research, allowing scholars to balance qualitative investigation with rigorous quantitative techniques. Through a global set of case studies spanning ancient, medieval, early modern and modern history, this edited volume demonstrates the interpretative potential of various SNA approaches to different sets of historical data. The chapters contribute to methodological understanding of SNA in economic history, as well as showing through the case studies how network analysis can decode complex social and economic interactions over time, making visible those relational patterns that were invisible to contemporary historical actors. This cutting-edge resource will be appeal widely to academics in economic, business and financial history, as well as statistics researchers and social scientists looking to strengthen their quantitative research skills.
Reviews / Votes
"Bringing together innovative methodologies and rich historical inquiry, this book demonstrates how networks have shaped economic processes across centuries. It is a valuable resource for scholars interested in networks, markets, finance, and business across both pre-modern and contemporary worlds." (Anuska Ferligoj, University of Ljubljana and National Research University Higher School of Economics (HSE), Moscow)
"Across diverse geographical settings and historical periods, the volume's contributions integrate SNA with complementary approaches such as GIS, data science, and emerging AI-based tools. The chapters also demonstrate how complex datasets can be structured and refined for rigorous network analysis, while engaging with key theoretical and methodological questions. The book offers a comprehensive overview of recent developments in the field and will be of interest to scholars seeking to apply network-based approaches to both established and emerging research problems." (Susanna Fellman, School of Business Economics and Law, University of Gothenburg)
"This collection of essays compellingly illustrates how social network analysis serves not only as a methodological tool but also as a powerful interpretive framework. With its wide-ranging and interdisciplinary scope - encompassing multiple historical periods, geographical contexts, and thematic areas - it demonstrates the capacity of network-based approaches to reshape the study of economic, business, and financial history. The book offers an important contribution and will be of great value to scholars interested in network-based perspectives on the past." (Thomas David, Institute of Political Studies (IEP), University of Lausanne)
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Introduction.- Part I Thinking in Networks: Approaches to Economic, Business, and Financial History.- Decoding Complex Socio-Economic Interactions in History through Social Network Analysis.- Improving Business History through Social Network Analysis and data.- Webs of Money: Social Network Analysis and Financial History.- Network-Based Bibliometric Analysis in Economic History.- Part II Connecting the Past: Case-Based Approaches to Networks in Economic History.- II.1 Threads of Antiquity: Economic and Cultural Networks Across the Mediterranean.- Trade and Cultural Transmission in lived spaces from central Italy from the Final Bronze Age to the Archaic Period (1100-500 BC): an Exploratory Network Analysis.- Exploring pottery distributions and regional economies through network analysis and GIS: Kalapodi and its region in the Roman period as a case study.- Maritime Trade in the Eastern Mediterranean: A Quantitative Analysis of Shipwreck Data from the Hellenistic Period through Late Antiquity (4th Century BCE - 7th Century CE).- II.2 Forging Markets: Credit, Networks, and Intermediation in Pre-Modern Europe.- Credit Networks in the 14th-century rural countryside of Tyrol. Importance and Functioning.- Forced Loans and Lenders' Networks in Seville: Coercion, Credit, and the Origins of a Proto-Financial Market (1523-1563) .- Relational Capital, Weak Ties, and Economic Intermediation. The Global Network built by Jerónimo de Cataño (1536-1589).- High Finance Networks in Renaissance Florence.- II.3 Networks of Influence: Business, Trust, and Governance Across Borders and Centuries in the Contemporary age.- Weaving Trust: Notaries and Credit Market (Networks) in 19th century Milan.- Studying insularity through business networks: the isle of Procida in 19th-century South of Italy.- Not a destiny. National corporate networks compared: Argentina and Italy 1913-2010.- Fellowship Society Members in Corporate Boards: Evidence from the Netherlands in the 20th Century.