Education

PhD in Economics \hfill 10/2023–present
Queen’s University Belfast, UK
Affiliated with: Centre for Economics, Policy and History (CEPH)
Dissertation Title: Water, Wheels, and the Wealth of Nations: Geography and
Path Dependence in European Industrialization
Viva: 21/10/2026 (Passed with no corrections; highest possible outcome)

MSc Economics \hfill 09/2020–09/2022
University of Mannheim, Germany
Thesis: Engines of Growth? The Role of the Steam Engine for Long-Run
Economic Development in Germany

Visiting Student \hfill 02/2021–06/2021
NHH Norwegian School of Economics, Norway

BSc Economics \hfill 09/2017–08/2020
University of Mannheim, Germany
Thesis: The Long-Term Effects of Colonialism on Income Inequality

Visiting Student \hfill 08/2019–12/2019
Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong

Publications

“Water mills and human capital accumulation in industrialising Prussia” \hfill 07/2026
Explorations in Economic History, 101(1): 101767.
Article: doi:10.1016/j.eeh.2026.101767
Replication Package: doi:10.17632/pvnh7g4b39.2

Job Market Paper

“Leapfrogging or path dependence? Water mills and long-run growth in the Scottish Industrial Revolution”
Latest draft available on my website.

\begin{cvabstract} \noindent\textbf{Abstract:} Does technological change favour agile entrants or adaptable incumbents? I examine this using Scotland’s industrialisation, testing whether steam power allowed new locations to “leapfrog” centres of water power. Using a newly constructed dataset linking over 1,200 pre-industrial mills to parish-level outcomes, and an instrumental variable strategy based on geographic endowments, I reject the leapfrogging hypothesis. An additional mill in 1755 caused 8\% higher long-run population growth (driven by migration), with effects intensifying precisely when steam power became abundant. Micro-evidence reveals that hydraulically advantaged mill sites largely survived, transitioned to industrial production and avoided obsolescence by integrating steam power as a complementary technology. The findings demonstrate that proto-industrial water power provided the critical infrastructure and human capital for the steam age, challenging the view that coal endowments alone determined the industrial map. \end{cvabstract}

Working Papers

“Market access without roads: First-nature geography and European city growth, 700–1800”
Draft available upon request.

Teaching Experience

Queen’s University Belfast
Principles of Economics, Teaching Assistant (course design, tutorials) \hfill 09/2025–01/2026
Principles of Economics, Teaching Assistant (tutorials, exam supervision, marking) \hfill 09/2024–01/2025

University of Mannheim
Macroeconomics A, Teaching Assistant (tutorials, student mentoring) \hfill 02/2020–08/2020
Statistics II, Teaching Assistant (tutorials, student mentoring) \hfill 09/2019–12/2019
Principles of Economics, Teaching Assistant (tutorials, exam organisation) \hfill 09/2018–12/2018

Honours and Awards

Winner, Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) Competition, Queen’s University Belfast \hfill 04/2026

New Researcher Prize, Economic History Society \hfill 04/2026

Graduated in top 20% of MSc Economics cohort, University of Mannheim \hfill 09/2022

Graduated in top 10% of BSc Economics cohort, University of Mannheim \hfill 08/2020

Dean’s List, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology \hfill 12/2019

Research Grants and Funding

Santander Career Support Award \hfill 05/2026

Economic History Society New Researcher Conference Bursary \hfill 01/2026

EHES Conference Travel and Accommodation Grant \hfill 07/2025

Economic History Society Young Scholar Conference Bursary \hfill 01/2025

CEPH Studentship, Irish Higher Education Authority, full funding for PhD studies \hfill 10/2023

PROMOS Scholarship, German Academic Exchange Service, full funding for HKUST \hfill 06/2019

Professional Memberships

Economic History Society (UK)

European Historical Economics Society

Irish Economic Association

Academic Presentations

Invited Talks

Graduate Seminar in Economic and Social History, University of Oxford \hfill 05/2026

Economic History Seminar, University of Hohenheim \hfill 03/2026

Department of Economics Seminar Series, Heriot-Watt University Edinburgh \hfill 01/2026

Centre for Economic History Seminar Series, Queen’s University Belfast \hfill 04/2024

Conference and Workshop Presentations

CEPH PhD Workshop, Queen’s University Belfast \hfill 05/2026

Queen’s Postgraduate Research Conference, Queen’s University Belfast \hfill 05/2026

Economic History Society Conference, London School of Economics \hfill 04/2026

Irish Postgraduate and Early Career Economics Workshop, Maynooth University \hfill 01/2026

European Historical Economics Society Conference, University of Hohenheim \hfill 09/2025

CEPH Workshop in Quantitative Economic History, Queen’s University Belfast \hfill 06/2025

Queen’s Postgraduate Research Conference, Queen’s University Belfast \hfill 06/2025

Economic History Society Conference, University of Strathclyde \hfill 04/2025

Centre for Economic History PhD Discussion Group, Queen’s University Belfast \hfill 02/2025

Centre for Economic History PhD Discussion Group, Queen’s University Belfast \hfill 03/2024

Professional Development

Graduate Teaching Assistant Workshop, The Economics Network \hfill 01/2025

Economic History Society Residential Training, University of Warwick \hfill 11/2024

Financial, Economic and Business History Summer School, University of Groningen \hfill 06/2024

Workshop for Teaching Assistants, University of Mannheim \hfill 09/2018

Public Engagement

‘Die Kraft des Wassers: Deutschlands vergessene Industrialisierung’ \hfill 08/2026
Featured Interview, GEO Magazine (Germany)

‘Chatting GPT: What does history tell us about the future of AI?’ \hfill 10/2025
Invited Speaker, ESRC Festival of Social Science

Industry Experience

KPMG AG Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft
Junior Consultant, Global Transfer Pricing (Mannheim, Germany) \hfill 04/2023–09/2023

Technical Skills

Econometric & Spatial Methods: Causal Inference (IV/2SLS, DiD, Panel/FE), Spatial Econometrics,
GIS & Cost-Surface Analysis, Gravity Modelling

Software & Programming: R (sf, terra), Python, Stata, Matlab, QGIS, Git, Quarto, LaTeX

Languages: German (native), English (fluent), Spanish (intermediate), Latin (reading)

References

::: {layout-ncol=2} Chris Colvin (PhD Supervisor)
Queen’s University Belfast
\href{mailto:chris.colvin@qub.ac.uk}{chris.colvin@qub.ac.uk} $\cdot$ \href{https://chris-colvin.github.io/}{Website}

Alexander Donges (MSc & BSc Advisor)
University of Mannheim
\href{mailto:donges@uni-mannheim.de}{donges@uni-mannheim.de} $\cdot$ \href{https://sites.google.com/view/alexanderdonges/}{Website} :::

::: {layout-ncol=2} Alan Fernihough (PhD Supervisor)
Queen’s University Belfast
\href{mailto:a.fernihough@qub.ac.uk}{a.fernihough@qub.ac.uk} $\cdot$ \href{https://pure.qub.ac.uk/en/persons/alan-fernihough}{Website}

John Turner (CEPH Director)
Queen’s University Belfast
\href{mailto:j.turner@qub.ac.uk}{j.turner@qub.ac.uk} $\cdot$ \href{https://pure.qub.ac.uk/en/persons/john-turner/}{Website} :::

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