Bachelor Theses
We provide opportunities for writing bachelor theses on various topics in Economic History and Long-run Development.
If you are interested in writing a bachelor thesis supervised by the economic history team, please register with the Center for Macroeconomic Research (CMR) here.
If you are accepted, you can rank the topics that relate to Economic History highest among all topics offered by the CMR.
Please also take into account the following information:
(1) Typically, we offer topics that are well suited for acquiring a profound understanding of state-of-the-art empirical research in economics. Examples of topics in previous terms are:
- “Female Empowerment and Economic Development.”
- “The Long Run Effects of the Presence of Knowledge Elites on Innovation”
- “Persistent Effects of Public Infrastructure Investments.”
- “Consequences of Involuntary Migration.”
- “Why Autocracies Fail.”
(2) Participation in the bachelor course 'Wirtschaftsgeschichte' is highly recommended.
In addition, basic knowledge in econometrics (courses: „AM Statistik und Ökonometrie“) is strongly recommended.
Master Theses
The Seminar of Economic and Business History offers supervision of master's theses. Supervision capacity is unfortunately limited and we are often unable to meet the high demand for supervision.
Master theses written at the Seminar are typically related to economic history or long-term development. They may sometimes be in the field of Development Economics. Methodologically, all theses are located in the field of Applied Microeconometrics.
Students are expected to work with data sets and test their hypotheses using econometric software. In doing so, they should deal with causal inference and identification strategies such as instrument variables, difference-in-difference estimates, RDD, and/or panel data. We expect students to develop their own research questions and find the relevant data to test their hypothesis using econometric software.
Prior to writing the thesis, we recommend participation in at least one of the following master courses:
-
Determinants of Growth in Economic History
-
Development Economics
You can write your thesis in English. Please see your corresponding “Prüfungsordnung” relevant to you for further administrative details.
If you are interested in writing your thesis with us, please contact Professor Dr. Erik Hornung, submitting your CV and Transcript of Records (email with one pdf-attachment only, hornung(at)wiso.uni-koeln.de).