Economics and History

Economics and history is a pairing that illuminates the material dimensions of the past and the historical roots of the economic structures we inhabit today. Economics provides the analytical frameworks and quantitative tools to understand how resources are allocated, how markets develop, how institutions shape incentives, and what produces growth or stagnation. History provides the long perspective, examining how economies have functioned across different periods and places, how trade, industrialisation, empire, financial crises, and technological change have reshaped material life, and what earlier episodes can tell us about the challenges we face now.

Studied together, the two disciplines produce graduates who can think rigorously about economic questions with a genuinely historical sensibility.

At Liverpool Hope University, this four-year, full-time programme includes a foundation year, making it accessible to students who need to build their academic foundations before the main degree. Throughout the programme you will engage with major global challenges, from globalisation and trade conflicts to inequality, climate change, migration, and financial instability, reading them both through the lens of economic theory and through the longer historical record. The degree includes a sandwich placement year, a year abroad, and work placement opportunities, providing substantial professional and international experience alongside academic study.

Graduates from economics and history degrees work in economic policy, banking and finance, government, consulting, journalism, education, the civil service, and international development. The combination of quantitative economic skills with historical analytical ability is valued in roles that require both rigorous analysis and contextual understanding. Many graduates go on to postgraduate study in economics, economic history, history, public policy, or finance, building specialist expertise for research or professional careers.