Edward Kerby

Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Stellenbosch University

Edward Kerby is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Stellenbosch University in the Department of Economics and at LEAP (Laboratory for the Economics of Africa’s Past).  He researches African Economic History, with a special interest in economic geography, development economics and business history. His PhD (LSE) focused on trade, investment and migration in apartheid South Africa. Current research projects include the rise and decline of manufacturing in Tanzania, colonial railways and disease burden in Malawi, and quantitative business history of the Cape Colony.

Recent work by Edward Kerby

  • How colonial railroads defined Africa’s economic geography

    At the turn of the 19th century, sub-Saharan Africa was the least urbanised region in the world, with only about 50 cities of more than 10,000 inhabitants. By 2010, the number of cities had increased to almost 3,000. This column, taken from a recent VoxEU eBook, explores how colonial railroad investments transformed Africa’s economic geography, and asks whether economic outcomes would have been different and development delayed without the railroads.

    Rémi Jedwab Edward Kerby Alexander Moradi

    Published 02.03.17