Vincent J. Geloso

Vincent J. Geloso

Vincent J. Geloso

Associate Professor

My research interests include: economic history, the measurement of living standards in historical perspective and political economy.

Originally from Quebec, Canada, I am the Wilson E. Schmidt Distinguished Professor of Economics at George Mason University and earned my Ph.D. in economic history from the London School of Economics. I was previously postdoctoral fellow at Texas Tech University and assistant professor of economics at King's University College and Bates College. I have an undergraduate degree in economics from the University of Montreal.

I specialize in the measurement of living standards today and in the distant past and in economic history. I combine this specialization in economic history with a specialization in political economy in order to explain differences in living standards over time and space. 

I have more than 120 peer-reviewed articles that have been published in Economic Journal, Journal of Development Economics, European Economic Review, Public Choice, Economic Inquiry, Canadian Journal of Economics Explorations in Economic History, European Review of Economic History, Contemporary Economic Policy and Southern Economic Journal.

I have also authored some 350 opinion articles in the Wall Street Journal, Journal de Montréal, Journal de Québec, National Post, Toronto Sun, Vancouver Sun, Globe & Mail, Toronto Star, Gazette, Le Devoir, La Presse, Le Soleil, and Huffington Post Québec. I also frequently collaborate with L'Express (France) and Le Point (France).  

I was also associate editor of Structural Change and Economic Dynamics (2021-2026) and current editorial board member at Cliometrica, Essays in Economic and Business History, Public Choice, Journal of Public Finance and Public Choice. 

I am also a member of the board of directors of the Montreal Economic Institute since 2023.

 

Current Research

Articles with Revise and Resubmit Decisions (as of 10/10/2026)

V. Geloso and C. Ramirez. “Did Peace Matter to Shipping Productivity? Quebec’s Shipping Industry from 1763 to 1860.” European Review of Economic History — Revise and Resubmit.
A.C. Flowers, V. Geloso, C. Piano, and L. Stone. “Do Child Care Regulations Widen the Fertility Gap? Evidence from the United States, 2021–2025.” Contemporary Economic Policy — Revise and Resubmit.
J. Callais, V. Geloso, A. Plemmons, and C. Reilly. “Income Mobility, Austerity and Liberalization: Evidence from Alberta’s Reforms in the 1990s.” European Economic Review — Revise and Resubmit.
V. Geloso and N. Tynan. “Typhoid Contamination and Self-Regulation of London’s Shellfish Industry.” Scandinavian Economic History Review — Revise and Resubmit.
V. Geloso and C. Pender. “Why Fur over Fish? Conflict-Induced Transaction Costs and Industry Composition in New France.” Canadian Journal of Economics — Revise and Resubmit.

 

 

 

 

Selected Publications

Books: 

The Great Enrichment: A New History of American Growth and Inequality, 1865–1945 -- Published February 15th 2027 with University of Chicago Press. 

Expanded Publication List

2026 (as of 10/09/2026)

111. J.P. Bastos, V. Geloso, and J. Pavlik. “The Forsaken Road: Reassessing Living Standards Following the Cuban Revolution and the American Embargo.” Journal of Development Economics (2026).

110. J. Callais, V. Geloso, and A. Plemmons. “Economic Freedom and the Environment: Causal Evidence from Liberalization Reforms.” Structural Change and Economic Dynamics (2026).

109. J. Bond, V. Geloso, and N. Swanson. “Painful Modernization? Productivity and Quebec’s Agricultural Crisis During the Nineteenth Century.” Cliometrica (2026).

108. V. Geloso. “The Takeover of Public Goods Provision: Lighthouses in the Early American Republic.” Journal of Comparative Economics (2026).

107. A. Acharya, V. Geloso, and A. Psurek. “Throw the Doughnut Away: Modelizing and Testing a Key Model of Degrowth.” Contemporary Economic Policy (2026).

106. V. Geloso, K. Grier, and F. Muhoza. “The Causal Effect of German Reunification on Economic Freedom.” Journal of Comparative Economics (2026).

105. J. Callais, V. Geloso, A. Plemmons, and G. Wagner. “Institutions Matter: Economic Freedom and Income Mobility.” Economic Modelling (2026).

104. J. Bologna Pavlik, V. Geloso, and Y. Zhou. “An Almost Laboratory Experiment: John Cowperthwaite and Hong Kong’s Economic Prosperity.” Public Choice (2026).

103. V. Geloso, K. Hyde, and I. Murtazashvili. “Diseases of Commerce: Unbundling Economic Freedom and Public Health.” Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization (2026).

2025

102. V. Geloso and C. Reilly. “National Output without Government? State Capacity and Welfare Measurement.” Journal of Government and Economics (2025).

101. V. Geloso and A.A. Toda. “Pareto’s Limits: Improving Inequality Estimates in America, 1917–1965.” Cliometrica (2025).

100. V. Geloso, P. Sharma, and A. Plemmons. “Income Mobility, Automation and Occupational Licensing.” Southern Economic Journal (2025).

99. J. Callais, V. Geloso, A. Plemmons, and G. Wagner. “Baumol’s Migrants: Productive and Unproductive Entrepreneurship and Between-MSA Migration.” European Journal of Political Economy (2025).

98. V. Geloso and C. Reilly. “A War-Adjusted National Accounting of US GDP, 1790–2020 and Its Implications.” Review of Austrian Economics (2025).

97. P. Fitzsimmons, V. Geloso, and J. Hall. “Did the Great Leveling Begin After 1921?” Scandinavian Economic History Review (2025).

96. V. Geloso and P. Sharma. “Regulation and Income Mobility.” The Economists’ Voice (2025).

95. V. Geloso. “Understating the Economic Consequences of Wartime Mobilization.” Social Science History (2025).

93. M. Curtis and V. Geloso. “Was There a Crisis? Living Standards in Lower Canada, 1760 to 1848.” European Review of Economic History (2025).

2024
94. J. Dean and V. Geloso. “Poverty Spells and Economic Freedom: Canadian Evidence.” Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization (2024).

92. V. Geloso. “Dynamics of Interventionism and Economic Development in Quebec Before 1854.” Essays in Economic and Business History (2024).

91. V. Geloso and L. Peng. “Postbellum Electoral Politics in California and the Genesis of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.” European Journal of Law and Economics (2024).

90. V. Geloso and C. Reilly. “Revisiting Quebec’s Quiet Revolution: A Synthetic Control Analysis.” Canadian Journal of Economics (2024).

89. V. Geloso and C. Reilly. “War and Presidential Greatness: Updating Henderson and Gochenour’s Results.” Independent Review (2024).

88. J. Callais, V. Geloso, and A. Plemmons. “Economic Freedom and Intergenerational Educational Mobility.” Journal of Private Enterprise (2024).

87. S. Alvarez, V. Geloso, and M. Scheck. “Revisiting the Relationship Between Economic Freedom and Development to Account for Statistical Deception by Autocratic Regimes.” European Journal of Political Economy (2024).

2023
86. V. Geloso and L. Rouanet. “Can Geography Explain Quebec’s Historical Poverty?” Southern Economic Journal (2023).

85. P. Leeson, V. Geloso, and N. Snow. “Externality and Taboo: Resolving the Judaic Pig Puzzle.” Rationality and Society (2023).

84. V. Geloso. “Does the Conquest Explain Quebec’s Historical Poverty? The Economic Consequences of 1760.” Cliometrica (2023).

83. M. Pedersen, V. Geloso, and P. Sharp. “Globalization and Empire: Market Integration and International Trade Between Canada, the United States and Britain from 1750 to 1870.” Social Science History (2023).

82. V. Geloso and M. Shera. “Presidents in Deficit: Are There Historical Rewards to Deficits?” Journal of Public Finance and Public Choice (2023).

81. V. Geloso, V. Kufenko, and A.P. Arsenault-Morin. “The Lesser Shades of Labor Coercion: The Impact of Seigneurial Tenure in Nineteenth-Century Quebec.” Journal of Development Economics (2023).

80. V. Geloso and L. Rouanet. “Ethnogenesis and Statelessness.” European Journal of Law and Economics (2023).

79. V. Geloso and C. Pender. “The Myth of Wartime Prosperity: Canadian Evidence.” Social Science Quarterly (2023).

78. V. Geloso and F. Foucher-Paquin. “Weak States and the Commons: Fisheries and Economic Development in the Gaspé Peninsula circa 1830.” Journal of Government and Economics (2023).

77. J. Callais and V. Geloso. “The Political Economy of Lighthouses in Antebellum America.” European Economic Review (2023).

76. V. Geloso, A. Plemmons, and A. Thomas. “No Wheat Crisis: Agricultural Trade Liberalization in Quebec During the 1830s and 1840s.” European Review of Economic History (2023).

75. J. Gagnon, V. Geloso, and M. Isabelle. “The Incubated Revolution: Education, Cohort Effects, and the Linguistic Wage Gap in Quebec During the 20th Century.” Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization (2023).

2022
74. J. Callais and V. Geloso. “Intergenerational Income Mobility and Economic Freedom.” Southern Economic Journal (2022).

73. V. Geloso, P. Magness, J. Moore, and P. Schlosser. “How Pronounced Is the U-Curve? Revisiting Income Inequality in the United States, 1917–60.” Economic Journal (2022).

72. V. Geloso and M. Makovi. “State Capacity and the Post Office: Evidence from 19th Century Quebec.” Journal of Economics and Government (2022).

71. V. Geloso. “Unenlightened Peasants? Farming Techniques Among French-Canadians, circa 1851.” Cliometrica (2022).

70. J. Dean and V. Geloso. “Economic Freedom Improves Income Mobility: Evidence from Canadian Provinces, 1982–2018.” Journal of Institutional Economics (2022).

69. E. Khaustova, V. Kufenko, and V. Geloso. “Escape Underway? Malthusian Pressures in Late Imperial Moscow.” Explorations in Economic History (2022).

68. G. Belzile, R. Candela, and V. Geloso. “Regulatory Capture and the Dynamics of Interventionism: The Case of Power Utilities in Quebec and Ontario to 1940.” Public Choice (2022).

67. V. Geloso and K. Grier. “Did Separatism Hurt Quebec’s Economy? The Causal Effects of the Election of the Parti Québécois in 1976.” European Journal of Political Economy (2022).

66. J. Dean and V. Geloso. “Wage Gap of Francophones in Quebec, 1901 to 1951.” Cliometrica (2022).

65. V. Geloso, K. Hyde, and I. Murtazashvili. “Pandemics, Economic Freedom, and Institutional Trade-Offs.” European Journal of Law and Economics (2022).

64. B. Cutsinger, V. Geloso, and M. Bédard. “The Wild Card: Colonial Paper Money in French North America, 1685 to 1719.” European Economic History Review (2022).

2021
63. V. Geloso. “Institutional Trade-Offs and the Net Cost of COVID-19 Policies.” Economist’s Voice (2021).

62. V. Geloso. “Statogenic Climate Change? Julian Simon and Institutions.” Review of Austrian Economics (2021).

61. N. Cowen and V. Geloso. “Capital, Ideology, and the Liberal Order.” Analysis and Kritik (2021).

60. P. Desrochers, V. Geloso, and J. Szurmak. “Care to Wager Again? An Appraisal of Paul Ehrlich’s Counterbet Offer to Julian Simon, Part 1: Outcomes.” Social Science Quarterly (2021).

59. P. Desrochers, V. Geloso, and J. Szurmak. “Care to Wager Again? An Appraisal of Paul Ehrlich’s Counterbet Offer to Julian Simon, Part 2: Critical Analysis.” Social Science Quarterly (2021).

58. V. Geloso and I. Murtazashvili. “Can Governments Deal With Pandemics?” Cosmos + Taxis: Studies in Emergent Order and Organization (2021).

57. R. Candela and V. Geloso. “Economic Freedom, Pandemics and Robust Political Economy.” Southern Economic Journal (2021).

56. V. Geloso and R. March. “Rent-Seeking for Madness: The Political Economy of Mental Institutionalization in America, 1870 to 1910.” Public Choice (2021).

55. R. Candela and V. Geloso. “Trade or Raid: Acadian Settlers and Native Indians Before 1755.” Public Choice (2021).

54. V. Kufenko and V. Geloso. “Who Are the Champions? Olympics, Inequality and Institutions.” Journal of Institutional Economics (2021).

53. V. Geloso and J. Glock. “The New History of Capitalism and the Methodology of Economic History.” Essays in Economic and Business History (2021).

51. V. Geloso and J.B. Pavlik. “Economic Freedom and the Economic Consequences of the 1918 Pandemic.” Contemporary Economic Policy (2021).

Forthcoming (as listed in the CV)
52. F. Garmon, V. Geloso, and P. Magness. “Divided Government and the Bias Against Presidential Restraint.” Social Science Journal (Forthcoming).

50. V. Geloso and J.B. Pavlik. “The Cuban Revolution and Infant Mortality: A Synthetic Control Approach.” Explorations in Economic History (Forthcoming).

49. V. Geloso and P. Leeson. “Are Anarcho-Capitalists Insane? Living Standards Under Medieval Icelandic Conflict Institutions.” Revue d’économie politique (Forthcoming).

2020
48. A. Arsenault Morin and V. Geloso. “Multilingualism and the Decline of the French Language.” Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development (2020).

46. V. Geloso and P. Lindert. “Relative Costs of Living, for Richer and Poorer, 1688–1914.” Cliometrica (2020).

45. V. Geloso and M. Hinton. “Improving Deflators for Estimating Canadian Economic Growth, 1870–1900.” Research in Economic History (2020).

44. V. Geloso, G. Berdine, and B. Powell. “Making Sense of Dictatorships and Health Outcomes.” British Medical Journal: Global Health (2020).

43. R. March and V. Geloso. “Gordon Tullock Meets Phineas Gage: The Political Economy of Lobotomies in the United States.” Research Policy (2020).

42. V. Geloso and A. Salter. “State Capacity and Economic Development: Causal Mechanism or Correlative Filter?” Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization (2020).

41. V. Geloso and G. Macera. “How Poor Were Quebec and Canada During the 1840s?” Social Science Quarterly (2020).

40. V. Kufenko, K. Prettner, and V. Geloso. “Divergence, Convergence, and the History-Augmented Solow Model.” Structural Change and Economic Dynamics (2020).

39. R. Candela and V. Geloso. “Coase and Transaction Costs Reconsidered: The Case of the Nore Lightship.” European Journal of Law and Economics (2020).

38. V. Geloso and P. Magness. “The Great Overestimation: Tax Data and Inequality Measurements in the United States, 1913–1943.” Economic Inquiry (2020).

37. V. Geloso. “Collusion and Combines in Canada, 1880–1890.” Scandinavian Economic History Review (2020).

36. V. Geloso. “Predation, Seigneurial Tenure and Development in French Colonial America.” Social Science History (2020).

2019
47. J. Land and V. Geloso. “Colonial Military Garrisons as Labor Market Shocks: Quebec City and Boston, 1760–1775.” Social Science Quarterly (listed as forthcoming in the CV).

35. V. Geloso and V. Kufenko. “Markets for Rebellions? The Rebellions of 1837–38 in Lower Canada.” Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization (2019).

34. R. Candela and V. Geloso. “Why Consider the Lighthouse a Public Good?” International Review of Law and Economics (2019).

33. V. Geloso. “A Price Index for Canada, 1688–1850.” Canadian Journal of Economics (2019).

32. P. Magness, A. Carden, and V. Geloso. “James M. Buchanan and the Political Economy of Desegregation.” Southern Economic Journal (2019).

31. V. Geloso. “Distinct Within North America: Living Standards in French Canada, 1688–1775.” Cliometrica (2019).

30. V. Geloso. “Measuring Away the Importance of Institutions: The Case of Seigneurial Tenure and Agricultural Output in Canada East, 1851.” Social Science Quarterly (2019).

29. V. Ivanovic, V. Kufenko, B. Begovic, N. Stanisic, and V. Geloso. “Continuity Under a Different Name: The Outcome of Privatisation in Serbia.” New Political Economy (2019).

28. V. Geloso and P. Magness. “Social Justice, Public Goods and Rent-Seeking in Narratives?” Independent Review (2019).

27. V. Geloso. “Inequality, (Transaction) Costs & Choice.” Cosmos + Taxis: Studies in Emergent Order and Organization (2019).

2018
26. V. Geloso and R. Candela. “The Lighthouse Debate and the Dynamics of Interventionism.” Review of Austrian Economics (2018).

25. R. Candela and V. Geloso. “The Lightship in Economics.” Public Choice (2018).

24. V. Geloso and Y. Msaid. “Adjusting Inequalities for Regional Price Parities: Importance and Implications.” Journal of Regional Analysis and Policy (2018).

23. V. Geloso, V. Kufenko, and K. Prettner. “Does Size Matter? Implications of Household Size for Economic Growth and Convergence.” Scottish Journal of Political Economy (2018).

22. G. Berdine, V. Geloso, and B. Powell. “Cuban Infant Mortality and Longevity: Health Care or Repression?” Health Policy & Planning (2018).

21. G. Berdine, V. Geloso, and B. Powell. “Cuban Infant Mortality and Longevity: Health Care or Repression? A Reply.” Health Policy & Planning (2018).

20. V. Geloso. “Seeds of Divergence: The Economy of French North America.” Journal of Economic History (2018).

19. V. Geloso and M. Bédard. “Was Economic Growth Likely in Lower Canada?” Journal of Private Enterprise (2018).

18. P. Desrochers, V. Geloso, and A. Moreau. “Supply Management and Household Poverty in Canada.” International Review of Economics (2018).

17. V. Geloso and G. Belzile. “Electricity Before Nationalization in Quebec, 1919 to 1939.” Atlantic Economic Journal (2018).

16. V. Geloso. “The Fall and Rise of Inequality: Disaggregating Narratives.” Advances in Austrian Economics (2018).

15. V. Geloso. “Were Wages That Low? Real Wages in the Strasbourg Regions Before 1775.” Journal of Interdisciplinary History (2018).

2017
14. A. Arsenault Morin, V. Geloso, and V. Kufenko. “The Heights of French-Canadian Convicts, 1780s to 1820s.” Economics & Human Biology (2017).

13. V. Geloso, M. Hinton, and V. Kufenko. “The Equally ‘Bad’ French and English Farmers of Quebec: New TFP Measures from the 1831 Census.” Historical Methods (2017).

12. V. Geloso and S. Horwitz. “Inequality: First, Do No Harm.” Independent Review (2017).

11. V. Geloso and V. Kufenko. “The Demand for ‘Guard Labour’: Another Explanation.” Economic Affairs (2017).

2016
10. V. Geloso. “The Turnover-Reducing Effects of the Minimum Wage May Harm the Economy.” Economic Affairs (2016).

9. V. Geloso and A. Lacombe. “Why Was Flour of Poor Quality? The Impact of Seigneurial Laws and Price Controls on Flour in Quebec.” Agricultural History Review (2016).

8. V. Geloso, V. Kufenko, and K. Prettner. “Demographic Factors in Regional Convergence in Canada.” Economics Bulletin (2016).

7. V. Geloso. “Lynne Pierson Doti and the Economic History of Unregulated Money and Banking.” Journal of Business & Management (2016).

6. V. Geloso. “Inequality, Capital and Many Other Things in the 21st Century (and Before).” Essays in Economic and Business History (2016).

2015
5. V. Geloso and V. Kufenko. “Malthusian Pressures: Empirical Evidence from a Frontier Economy.” Journal of Population Research (2015).

4. V. Geloso. “Toleration of Catholics in Quebec and British Public Finances, 1760 to 1775.” Essays in Economic and Business History (2015).

3. V. Geloso. “Deirdre McCloskey, Kirznerian Growth and the Role of Social Networks.” Economic Affairs (2015).

2014
2. V. Geloso. “Ticket Scalping as a Means of Managing Risk.” Economic Affairs (2014).

2012
1. V. Geloso. “Intercity-City Bus Services in Canada – Time for Deregulation.” Economic Affairs (2012).

Courses Taught

ECON 365: Topics in Economic History

ECON 612: Microeconomic Theory II

ECON 831: Mathematical Economics II

ECON 345: Introduction to Econometrics

Education

B.sc (2009) Université de Montréal

M.sc (2010) London School of Economics and Political Science

Ph.D (2016) London School of Economics and Political Science

Recent Presentations

Economic History: Humility & Optimism in the Past -- The Knowledge Archives (March 2020)

Myths and Facts of Cuban Health Care - Human Rights Foundation (October 2021)

Who Gets the Short End: The Nuances of Subsidized Daycare in Canada - Fraser Institute Forum (August 2021)

Fighting Pandemics with Economic Freedom -- The Human Progress Podcast (January 2022)

Connecting Economic Freedom and Economic Mobility -- The Archbridge Institute Podcast (March 2022)

What You Need to Know About Income Inequality -- American Institute for Economic Research (April 2022)

Human Development & Dictatorships: Cuban Healthcare and Other Myths -- Human Rights Foundation (June 2022)

In the Media

Recent media appearances (English items included)

Reforming Montreal's Transit System (op-ed in Montreal Gazette, Canada with Francesco Amodio of McGill University)

Inequality and The Piketty Accounting Error (op-ed in the Wall Street Journal with Phillip W. Magness)

Canada Needs School Choice (op-ed in Financial Post, Canada)

Blaming foreigners will not resolve the housing shortage (op-ed in Toronto Star, Canada)

Make French Safer by Making Quebec Richer (op-ed in Financial Post, Canada)

Regulations disproportionately hurt low-income workers trying to climb income ladder (Yahoo Finance)

Facing a 'she-cession,' federal child care funding needed to support women in the workforce, says expert (CBC, Canada)

Rogers-Shaw deal raises questions on pricing power, political will (Toronto Star, Canada)

Recent media appearances (French items)

Mobilité Sociale: Privilégions la Liberté Économique à la Redistribution (Op-Ed in L'Express, France)

La 'courbe en U' des inégalités de Piketty ressemble bien plus à une soucoupe à thé (Op-Ed in L'Express, France)

L’électricité avant l’étatisation (Op-Ed in Le Devoir, Canada)

Rigueur Budgétaire dans l'Histoire: Parizeau Devant Couillard (La Presse, Canada)

Interview with Atlantico (France) regarding my research on income inequality published in Economic Journal and the many errors of Thomas Piketty and Emmanuel Saez

Interview with Le Point (France) regarding my research on state capacity and economic growth published in Public Choice and Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization. 

Recent media appearances (Other Languages)

Interview with Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (Germany) regarding my research on income inequality published in Economic Journal and the many errors of Thomas Piketty and Emmanuel Saez