Economic History in the Journal of Contemporary History (1969–2018)

Abstract

This paper offers an overview of the approaches to economic history in the Journal of Contemporary History. First, the possible definitions of the term ‘economic history’ are presented, along with a brief overview of the development of that scientific subdiscipline in Croatian and international historiography. The main part of the paper is devoted to an overview of the contents of relevant works printed in the Journal, which is followed by a description and analysis of the numeric indicators of articles, topics covered, categories, and authors of papers and other contributions published in the Journal from its launch in 1969 to the end of 2018. In addition to several tables and graphics, the author has compiled a full biography of 51 articles and 32 reviews related to economic history, which has been attached to the article as an appendix. The Journal of Contemporary History reflects a relatively poor presence of works dealing with economic history in Croatian historiography, but shows a different trend when its internal production is examined. The 1990s, which are usually regarded as a time when research in economic history within the frame of Croatian historiography waned, were also the decade when a greater number of works on economic history were published in the Journal than in any previous decade. This overview also points to the often highlighted problem of the lack of systematic support, i.e. the lack of institutional infrastructure and programmes aimed at supporting the development of economic history as well as the lack of team- and interdisciplinary work. Scientific production in this field depends on the enthusiasm of individuals, who are few in number. The most prominent author in this context is Mira Kolar Dimitrijević, who has written one-third of all economic history articles published in the Journal of Contemporary History.