𝗘𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗦𝗵𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁

𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗣𝗮𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀

𝗘𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗦𝗵𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁

𝗝𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹:
Economic History of Developing Regions

𝗣𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗿:
Taylor & Francis Group

𝗔𝗯𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗗𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲:
1 September 2026

𝗠𝗮𝗻𝘂𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗽𝘁 𝗗𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲:
1 June 2027

𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗜𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲

Economic History of Developing Regions invites submissions for a Special Issue on “Economic Shrinking in Development.” The Special Issue seeks to place economic shrinking—defined as periods of negative per capita income growth—at the centre of scholarly inquiry and explore its causes, consequences, and governance across developing economies.

While economic growth and structural transformation have been extensively studied, economic shrinking remains a recurrent yet comparatively underexplored aspect of long-term development. The issue aims to advance understanding of why economies experience varying frequencies and intensities of shrinking episodes and how societies and governments respond to such downturns.

The Special Issue welcomes contributions from economic history, development economics, political economy, and related disciplines to generate fresh theoretical, methodological, and empirical insights into economic shrinking and broader development dynamics.

𝗧𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁

Submissions may address, but are not limited to:

• Growth accounting and long-run development trajectories
• Institutional change and policy responses to economic downturns
• Demographic pressures and economic shrinking
• Technological capability, innovation, and productivity decline
• Macroeconomic fragility and public finance constraints
• External shocks, conflicts, and climate-related disruptions
• Historical patterns and comparative experiences of economic shrinking
• Social capabilities and adaptation during economic downturns
• Governance mechanisms and strategies that mitigate shrinking episodes
• Expectations, inequality, well-being, and societal responses to economic decline
• Methodological approaches to measuring and identifying shrinking regimes
• Mixed-methods studies combining historical evidence, archival research, and econometric analysis

𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗜𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲 𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀

The Special Issue encourages research that examines economic shrinking not merely as a macroeconomic outcome but also as a social, institutional, and political process. Contributions are invited from a wide range of geographic and historical contexts within the Global South, including countries in Latin America, Africa, and Asia.

Both cross-country and country-specific studies are welcome, as are North-South comparisons and interdisciplinary research designs. The editors particularly encourage submissions from early-career researchers, female scholars, and researchers based in developing countries.

𝗦𝘂𝗯𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗚𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀

• Authors are invited to submit an extended abstract of approximately 1,500 words by 1 September 2026.
• Abstracts should clearly outline the research question, data, methodology, and preliminary findings (if available).
• Proposals will be evaluated based on relevance to the Special Issue, strength of theoretical or empirical contribution, and clarity of writing.
• Approximately ten proposals will be selected and invited for further development and participation in a workshop scheduled for April 2027.
• The workshop will be conducted either online or at the University of Manchester, subject to funding availability.
• Invited authors will submit full papers through the journal submission system by 1 June 2027.
• All submissions will undergo double-blind peer review in accordance with the journal’s standards.
• Publication of the Special Issue is expected in Spring 2028.

𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗜𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲 𝗘𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀

• Martin Andersson, University of Lund, Sweden
• Antonio Savoia, University of Manchester, United Kingdom

𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗦𝗲𝘁𝘂 𝗔𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗰𝘀 — 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗲𝗿 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗔𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗢𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 & 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

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