(1) Describe the causes and/or consequences of Japan’s experience with modern economic growth during the Meiji period. (Suggested author: John Tang)
(2) Are financial crises more common and/or more severe in countries with unusually high levels of foreign debt? Discuss using examples and evidence from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. (Suggested author: Chris Meissner)
(3) Discuss the historical origins of the persistent differences in economic outcomes across Indigenous communities, using evidence from North America and/or Australia. (Suggested author: Donna Feir)
(4) Explain why colonial networks promote trade, using examples and evidence from the first era of globalization. (Suggested author: Kris Mitchener)
(5) Discuss the effect unions have on 19th and 20th century US and British wage and income inequality. (Suggested author: Bill Collins)
(6) Using the great Irish famine of the 1840s as a case study, discuss the impact of international migration and globalization on the incidence and severity of famines. (Suggested author: Cormac O’Grada)
(7) Using the Indian railway network as a case study, discuss the advantages and disadvantages of government involvement in the building and/or management of transportation infrastructure. (Suggested author: Latika Chaudhary)
(8) Describe the impact that the introduction of new information technologies (telegraph, telephone or stock tickers, for example) during the late 19th century had on the operation and efficiency of global financial markets. (Suggested author: Karl Persson)
(9) Discuss the causes and/or consequences of Latin American and Caribbean countries’ late 19th and early 20th century sovereign debt crises. (Suggested author: Alan Taylor)
(10) Any other topic related to the course themes that does not appear on the course syllabus (with the approval of the instructor).