Interested scholars are invited to submit proposals for papers to be presented at the annual meeting of the Economic History Association to be held in Nashville, TN, September 19-21, 2003. Papers are welcome on any topic in economic history, broadly defined. Some, but not all, of the sessions will be devoted to the theme:

"Transitions in Economic History."

All economies of the world have experienced a number of transitions in their history. These include those of a grand sort, such as revolution, independence from colonial rule, and the emergence of a market economy. But they also encompass many other transitions that were identified long ago by Simon Kuznets and other scholars as part and parcel of the process of economic development, such as the demographic transition, the decline of the family farm, the rise of services, and the emergence of a multi-ethnic population. These transitions have proceeded more smoothly in some nations than others and they have not taken place everywhere with the same speed. Some may be seen as having been more successful than others.

Why have these transitions been more successful in some places? What determines the speed of transitions? Does the speed matter to eventual success? What has been the impact on the standard of living and the distribution of income and wealth during the process? Proposals may be submitted by using the form available from the EHA website. If a draft of the paper is available, it should be sent in addition to the abstracts. Proposals may also be submitted by mail. Please send three copies of a 3-5 page abstract and a 150 word abstract suitable for publication in the JEH to the address below by January 31, 2003. Notices of acceptance will be sent by March 30, 2003. Joshua Rosenbloom may be contacted for more information.