NEWS
On 1 December, Kate Ekama delivered the keynote address at the Emancipation Day commemoration in Pniel, Stellenbosch. Drawing on her archival research, she traced the lives of enslaved people who secured freedom for themselves and their families, illustrating how rigorous historical work can recover individual stories and connect the archive to contemporary social justice debates.
Ed Kerby delivered the opening keynote at the African Economic History Network meetings on behalf of Johan Fourie, who could not attend the meetings. The talk – Make African Economic History great again – was well received.
On 4 November, Meredith Paker presented the 10th annual LEAP Lecture. The title of her talk was: Understanding the Past with Machine Learning. The LEAP Lecture was delivered at the end of the a workshop on economic history in the age of AI. Caterina Chiopris and Emily Aiken were the keynote speakers.
LEAP has two candidates on the economics job market: Gabriel Brown and Tim Ngalande. Gabriel is a postdoctoral fellow whose job-market paper on Bible translations in Africa combines an extraordinary new dataset on missions, language and infrastructure with state-of-the-art identification to show how vernacular codification shaped colonial investment and long-run education and health. Tim has just submitted a PhD that builds new twentieth-century data for South African mining and manufacturing and uses growth accounting, structural modelling and quasi-experimental evidence to quantify how apartheid’s labour and transport institutions misallocated talent and imposed large productivity costs.
LEAP is advertising five postdoctoral fellowships for 2026. If you’re on the economics job market, with an interest in economic history and developing regions, please consider applying!
Lisa Martin successfully defended her dissertation – Life after Slavery – on 4 February in the Department of Economics.
LEAP received Stellenbosch University's interdisciplinary research award in October 2024. Prof. Sibusiso Moyo, Vice-Rector for Research, highlighted LEAP’s impact, noting its strong local relevance and global reach.
Stellenbosch University awarded honorary Doctor of Commerce degrees to economic experts Professors Leonard Wantchekon and James Robinson during its March 2024 graduation ceremonies for their contributions to economic history and academic collaboration with LEAP.
In March 2024, the Cape Panel project reached a significant milestone with the completion of the MOOC 10 auction roll series.
On March 12, LEAP hosted a workshop on ‘Economic History and Economic Policy’. Chris Colvin (Queen’s University Belfast) and Jonas Hjort (UCL) were the two keynote speakers.
Jonathan Schoots and Kate Ekama, both postdoctoral fellows, presented their research at the European Social Science History Congress, Gothenburgh 2023
Amy Rommelspacher (PhD, History) graduates, December 2022
LEAP hosts closing conference of Biography of an Uncharted People project, November 2022
LEAP hosts Cape of Good Hope Panel meeting, November 2022
Fugitives is a documentary produced by the Biography project in collaboration with Blindspot Films.
LEAP researchers attend the African Economic History Network meetings in Las Palmas, October 2022
LEAP researchers attend World Economic History Congress in Paris, July 2022
ABOUT LEAP
The Laboratory for the Economics of Africa’s Past (LEAP) is dedicated to the quantitative study of African economic and social history. It brings together scholars and students interested in understanding and explaining the long-term economic development of Africa’s diverse societies. Since 2023, LEAP is a Type-1 centre within the Department of Economics at Stellenbosch University, South Africa.
OUR TEAM
Faculty and Students
Dieter von Fintel
Faculty
Calumet Links
Faculty
Kelsey Lemon
Researcher
Karl Bergemann
Postdoc
Lisa Martin
Postdoc
Munashe Chideya
Postdoc
Lauren Stevens
PhD student
Jan-Hendrik Pretorius
PhD student
GOVERNING BOARD
The Governing Board consists of seven members.
Ada Jansen is the HoD of Economics. She is an economist specialising in tax policy.
Sophia du Plessis is the HoD of Economics. She specialises in institutional economics.
Janine Myburgh is the Chairperson of the Pniël Museum and Heritage Site. She is a senior admin officer at the Department of Civil Engineering.
Kanshukan Rajaratnam is the Director of the School for Data Science and Computational Thinking. He is a financial engineer.
Kris Inwood is Professor in Economics and in History at the University of Guelph.
Mohamed Saleh is Associate Professor of Economic History at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).
Johan Fourie is the first Director of LEAP. Fourie completed his PhD in the Department of Economic and Social History at Utrecht University in 2012.
Extraordinary professors and Research affiliates
Jan Luiten van Zanden
Extraordinary professor
Marianne Wanamaker
Research affiliate
Martine Mariotti
Research affiliate
Erik Green
Research affiliate
Leigh Gardner
Research affiliate
Johannes Norling
Research affiliate
Abel Gwaindepi
Research affiliate
Kara Dimitruk
Research affiliate
Chair in Economics, History and Policy
The Chair in Economics, History and Policy focuses on deepening research into economic history and disseminating insights to inform public policy and societal debates. The Chair builds on the idea that storytelling and historical narratives are crucial in shaping economic behaviour and policy. As Nobel laureate Robert Shiller argues, economic narratives can significantly influence major events like recessions. By employing applied history—using historical analogies and lessons—the Chair helps policymakers make informed decisions that are grounded in historical precedent. This is especially relevant in developing countries where past policies and economic crises are poorly understood, and a deeper study of history can provide valuable guidance.
Led by Johan Fourie, the Chair integrates four key themes: publications, pedagogy, policy and public engagement. Through updated educational materials, policy workshops and public outreach like blogs, podcasts, and even graphic novels, the Chair connects rigorous historical research with real-world application, equipping decision-makers with long-term perspectives to address contemporary challenges.
TEACHING
The programmes we offer.
ECONOMIC HISTORY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
An undergraduate course in Economic History and Economic Development is taught annually in the Department of Economics.
INSTITUTIONAL ECONOMICS
A graduate course in Institutional Economics is taught biannually in the Department of Economics.
ECONOMIC HISTORY
A graduate course in Economic History is taught annually in the Department of Economics.
NETWORKS
We value our partnerships with these societies and institutions.
SAMPIE TERREBLANCHE RESEARCH REPOSITORY
The first professor to be appointed in economic history at Stellenbosch was professor Sampie Terreblanche. Prof Sampie, as he was affectionately known, produced several books and monographs on economic history and the history of economic thought, with a particular focus on South Africa.
His full research repository is now available on a dedicated website.
CONTACT LEAP
Get in touch if you have any questions or need more information.
POSTAL ADDRESS
LEAP, Department of Economics
Private Bag X1
Matieland 7602
PHYSICAL ADDRESS
LEAP, Department of Economics
Schumann building, Bosman Street
Stellenbosch 7600
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