Joseph Enguehard

Please tell us about your research project.

My research spans political economy, macroeconomic development and economic history. I am interested in a variety of issues related to long-run economic and institutional development, including the political economy of taxation, military recruitment and resistance to state expansion, the interaction between demographic transition and structural change, and historical living standards. In particular, part of my work focuses on the economic development of colonial South Asia. Britain is therefore a natural destination for me, be it the Weston Library in Oxford or the British Library. Both hold the impressive mass of statistical surveys produced in the British Raj at the turn of the century.

First impressions of Oxford/the University?

As this is not my first visit to Oxford (and hopefully not my last), I find it fascinating to discover new faces of the city each time, between the busy centre and the quiet neighbourhood of the Maison Française, between terms and vacations, not to mention during and after the pandemic. What remains throughout the seasons is the wonderful scenery of collegiate architecture and the abundance of rain!