Dr Brian A’Hearn awarded British Academy Serena Medal for Italian Economics

Each year The British Academy makes a small number of awards to scholars in the social sciences and humanities whose work has been of special note. In 2015 the Serena Medal has been awarded to Pembroke’s senior Fellow in Economics, Dr Brian A’Hearn, for his reputation in, and contribution to the study of Italian economic history.

Dr A’Hearn has made a number of contributions to understanding Italian economic development in the long run, especially in its regional aspects. These have ranged widely and include the location of the cotton textile industry, the health of Italian children as revealed by their adult statures, the role of cooperative banks in regional economies, and the ways in which Italy’s external trade affected its internal economic geography. Among his current projects are a studies of cognitive ability measured by the accuracy of self-reported ages, the politics of local primary school provision, and a comparison of poverty in Italy and in Edwardian Britain as estimated from household budgets. 

The Serena Medal is awarded annually for eminent services in furthering the study of Italian history, literature, art or economics in the UK. It was endowed by Mr Arthur Serena after Great Britain’s alliance with Italy in the First World War. The medal was first awarded in 1920. For more information, visit The British Academy website.