Two CPEH PhD students have been awarded the prestigious New Researcher Paper prize at the Economic History Society’s annual conference. Malte Hinrichs and Alessandro Brioschi were both awarded prizes for their cutting-edge historical research.

Malte’s paper, titled “Leapfrogging or Path Dependence? Water Mills and Long-Run Growth in the Scottish Industrial Revolution“, offers a fascinating study of technological innovation and adaption. He explores Scotland’s transition into the Industrial Revolution, and the impact of general-purpose technologies such as watermills and steam power in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. In an era of rapid AI adoption, the findings are a powerful lession in tehcnological shifts, showing that new tech doesn’t necessarily wipe away the old and that integrating existing technology with human skill can be the key to new growth.

Alessandro instead took us to early-modern Venice with “Asymmetric Shocks in Preindustrial Labour Markets: Evidence from the 1630–1631 Plague in Venice“, challenging the traditional narrative around the Black Death and its impacts on workers in Europe. The typical story of the the Black Death suggests that it raised wages and narrowed inequality as ordinary labourers gained bargaining power due to their increased scarcity. However, when Venice was wracked by plague from 1629-31, wage inequality increased. Skill-intensive trades such as glassblowing and silk weaving saw considerable boosts to wages, while less skilled professions saw much slower growth. As Alessandro says, “The 1629-31 plague didn’t level the playing field. It tilted it further.”

This marks the third year in a row where CEPH PhD students have received this award. Malte and Alessandro follow on from Kyle Richmond (2024) and Iris Wohnsiedler (2025) in receiving the prize.