Thomas Westland

Thomas Westland is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow specializing in Economic and Environmental History, with a primary focus on colonial West Africa and Nigeria. His current research examines spatial inequality, urban-rural economic dynamics, and the resilience of traditional industries under colonial rule. He actively contributes to the international collaborative project 'South-South Divergence,' which investigates comparative regional integration patterns in Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa since 1850.

Westland's scholarly work centers on quantitative analysis of colonial economic structures, particularly real wages, living standards, and handicraft production in French West Africa and British Nigeria. His research bridges environmental history and economic development, exploring how ecological constraints and colonial policies shaped historical trajectories of inequality. Key methodological approaches include spatial econometrics and comparative historical analysis of pre-independence economic systems.

His recent publications reveal a cohesive analytical thread examining institutional legacies of colonialism through three distinct lenses: tariff policy impacts in contemporary Australia, urban wage premiums in French West Africa, and textile industry resilience in Northern Nigeria. These works collectively demonstrate a shift toward transnational comparative frameworks in economic history, emphasizing South-South connections and long-term developmental divergence.

As Principal Investigator on the 'South-South Divergence' project (2021-2026), Westland secures substantial research funding while collaborating with an international team including Ewout Frankema (Project Leader), Sarah de Pleijt, Bram Hulshoff, and Maria Ali. His work generates significant academic engagement, evidenced by Scopus citations, Mendeley readership, and cross-platform scholarly discussion on social media.

Westland's research network spans multiple continents through the South-South Divergence project, which integrates economic historians, development economists, and area studies specialists. This collaborative framework facilitates comparative analysis of regional integration processes across Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, with particular attention to ecological constraints and institutional adaptation in post-colonial contexts.