Paul Richard Sharp

Paul Richard Sharp is a Professor in Economic History at the Department of Economics, University of Southern Denmark. He leads the Historical Economics and Development Group (HEDG) and holds associated roles at DIAS, CPop, and is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR).

• Department of Economics, University of Southern Denmark
• Historical Economics and Development Group (HEDG)
• Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

His research focuses on economic history with a specialization in Denmark, agriculture, dairy industry, and broader themes like human capital, social capital, and energy economics. He has published extensively in top journals and with University of Chicago Press and Cambridge University Press.

Recent publications analyze labor seasonality in Danish manorial accounts, dairy cattle welfare in historical contexts, creamery productivity in Denmark and Ireland pre-WWI, and firm-level energy shock responses. Themes span economic history, agricultural development, and industrial policy.

Scientific awards include the

• Figuerola Prize (2013)
• Best report on History (2011)
• D. McCloskey/William Shakespeare prize (2008)
• Best new researcher (2007)

As a PI, Sharp manages grants including a 6 million kroner award from Independent Research Fund Denmark and its Sapere Aude grant (Level 2, 2016). He supervises 2 PhD students and 1 postdoc, with 6 previous PhD supervisees. His editorial roles include

• Senior Editor, Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Economics and Finance
• Editor, Scandinavian Economic History Review
• Editor, European Historical Economics Society’s working paper series

He chairs the Danish Society for Economic and Social History (since 2014) and previously led the Scandinavian Society for Economic and Social History (2018-2022). Collaborations include DIAS Program on the History of Capitalism and projects with Carlsberg Foundation.