The formal foundation of the research centre in Economic and Social History at ISEG (Gabinete de História Económica e Social) took place in 1975. Since then, the number of researchers has been increasing, helping to create at ISEG a group of economists and historians specialized in this field of social and human sciences. In the 1980s, the faculty recognised the PhD in Economic and Social History and several disciplines of economic history were incorporated into the Masters and Postgraduate courses offered by ISEG.

GHES pursues three key objectives which have shaped its development: to promote a comprehensive research in the fields of Economic, Financial and Business History at ISEG; to contribute to improving the teaching of Economic and Business History, and to disseminate the results of current research through the regular publication of the Working Paper Series, and also through the organization and participation in workshops, seminars and conferences.

Since 1998, GHES has been submitted to the assessments of the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) with excellent and very good ratings. The Centre has hosted several research programmes and provided services in different areas, notably in the history of urban supply and consumption, modern economic growth, monetary history, public finance and capital markets, business history and the history of economic thought.

In 2013, GHES participated in the creation of a consortium in the context of applications to FCT (Strategic Financing Projects for the period 2015-2020). This consortium involves four research centres: SOCIUS, ADVANCE, CEsA and GHES, and has adopted the name CSG - Centro de Investigação em Gestão e Ciências Sociais (Management and Social Sciences Research Centre).

Center Financed by