Andrew Primmer
Convenor of EC243 – Economic History
Areas of interest
Infrastructure Development, Sovereign Debt, Sovereign Default, Corporate Debentures and Finance, Stock Market Fluctuations, Export-Led Development, Imperialism, Bondholder Organisations, Corporate and Sovereign Risk, Financial bubbles, Fiscal Policy, Trade-Tariffs, Protectionism and Free-trade, Globalisation, Business Economics, Financial Economics, Finance, Accounting Organisations, Professionalisation in Accounting.Postgraduate supervision
I would be interested in supervising students working on Economic History, Business History, Accounting History, Financial History, Financial Markets of Development. I would be particularly interested in supervising students working on Latin America, Africa or South Asia.Research centres and groups
- Centre for Institutions and Economic History
- British Academy Early Career Researcher Network
- Economic History Society
- Association of Business Historians
Background
As an economic historian, my expertise lies in exploring Britain’s formal and informal empire, with a special focus on South America and Sub-Saharan Africa. My journey began at the University of Wales, Swansea, where I graduated in 2006. Post-graduation, I ventured into industry, honing my skills in accounting and becoming a part-qualified accountant with the ACCA.A profound interest in Latin America, kindled by travels to the region in 2010, led me to pursue a master’s degree at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia. Here, I was honoured to receive the Beca de Estudiante Sobresaliente de Posgrado, a prestigious award marking me as the first foreign recipient. A condensed version of my thesis, delving into the nuances of the region's economic history, was recently published in English in with Business History (2023).
In 2013, my academic path took me to the University of Bristol. Under the guidance of Professor Roger Middleton and Professor Matthew Brown, I embarked on a project examining the Business and Economic History of British Railway Companies during the first period of globalisation. This period of study was uniquely blended with my role in finance at a multinational American conglomerate in ºÚ¹Ï³ÔÁÏÍø. My commitment and research were further recognized when I received the Deas Scholarship, an internal Bristol University accolade. My doctoral dissertation, supervised by Professor Colin Lewis, was nominated for the best doctoral dissertation of 2018.
After a brief return to the accounting industry in 2020, I was awarded the British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship. Currently, I am collaborating with Professor Mark Casson on a project that analyses the economic history of railway companies in Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa. This project not only encapsulates my academic pursuits but also reflects my enduring commitment to understanding the intricacies of economic history in these dynamic regions.
Academic qualifications
- BA History – University of Wales Swansea
- Maestria (Mlitt Equiv) Historia Económica (Economic History) – Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá
- PhD – University of Bristol
Awards and honours
- British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship
- Deas Scholarship
- Santander Travel Grant
- Beca de Estudiante Sobresaliente de Postgrado
Professional bodies/affiliations
- ACCA – Association of Chartered Certified Accountants
- Postdoctoral Fellow of the British Academy