SCIENCE IN HISTORY AND BEYOND

By Bart van Holsteijn & Hannah de Korte

Michail Moatsos is a PhD candidate under the supervision of Jan Luiten van Zanden in the economic and social history section of the department. His research is related to the research project ‘Global Poverty and Income Inequality in the Long Run’ and focuses on the long-term evolution of income distribution and inequality, as well as poverty on a global scale. The main contribution of his research comprises a new way of measuring global poverty levels, as opposed to the commonly used ‘dollar a day’ definition of absolute poverty. His main argument is that poverty is never simply absolute, but also relative. Thus, the commonly-used one dollar standard is not always analytically useful.

Moatsos is a unique figure in the history department, as his interest mostly goes out to measuring data and testing theories to explain a certain phenomenon, rather than engaging with the historiographical debate and interpreting historical situations. In his research he converges various data sets, applying the same method to various national data sets and then comparing the results. Before 2008 Moatsos was part of a team of researchers who were assembling a global data set on poverty, but because other researchers were not using this data, the programme was cancelled. Therefore, contemporary methods of the research on poverty was thrown back to having to rely on data of national institutions.

He has a background in fields quite far removed from History. He initially studied Physics and obtained a Master’s degree in Computer Science from the University of Athens. Later he also obtained a Research Master’s degree in Economics from Utrecht University. Coming from a background of ‘hard’ science and strong quantitative methods, Moatsos’ view on historical science is influenced by these disciplines. According to him, some historians and social scientists first with literature to formulate theories before they engage with an empirical phenomenon, which in his opinion should never be the case. It strongly contradicts the methods of natural science where theories are always inferred from observations.

Not only does Moatsos have a diverse academic background, he has also had a diverse career. After finishing his first Master’s degree, he set up a film production company, which was initially a botched plan to sell advertisement projections on taxis. Having edited a prize-winning feature film, the company eventually shut down sometime after the 2008 financial crisis. Moatsos then proceeded to set up a digital advertisement company, which he worked on until he decided to move back into academics. According to him, there is great value in academic skills in wider society. The essential process of writing a paper or thesis  being able to interpret the material, engage in dialogue with other people and revise whatever is being produced  are useful skills in most situations.

As part of his research Moatsos has produced a website on which visitors can construct what they perceive to be the minimum goods necessary to rise above poverty levels. To learn about his research topic through an interactive experience, browse to the following link: http://globalpoverty.world/.