![Xuesheng You](https://profiles-cardiff.imgix.net/attachments/1456?w=200&h=200&auto=format&crop=faces&fit=crop&q=90")
Overview
Xuesheng You is an economic historian of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Britain.
Being disillusioned with Economics after a Bachelor from Manchester and an MPhil from Cambridge, he went on to get his PhD in History from Cambridge as a Gates Scholar.
His research to date focuses on four related areas: first, gendered labour market and household economy; second, child labour in factories and farms; third, effect of transport development on the Industrial Revolution via labour migration, resource reallocation and urbanisation; and fourth, outdoor relief as the key component of social welfare provision under the New Poor Law post 1834.
He is currently the principal investigator for a research project on Victorian child labour, jointly funded by the Economic History Society and the Textiel History Society.
He is a member of the Cardiff University Senate.
Publication
2026
- You, X. and Tertzakian, A. 2026. Child labour and industrialisation: Evidence from factory records and the 1851 British census. The Economic History Review 79 (1), pp.163-188. (10.1111/ehr.70015)
2024
- You, X. 2024. Female relatives and domestic service in 19th-century England and Wales: female kin servants revisited. The Economic History Review 77 (2), pp.444-471. (10.1111/ehr.13276)
2022
- Bogart, D. et al., 2022. Railways, divergence, and structural change in 19th century England and Wales. Journal of Urban Economics 128 103390. (10.1016/j.jue.2021.103390)
2020
- You, X. 2020. Working with Husband? "Occupation's Wife" and Married Women's Employment in the Censuses in England and Wales between 1851 and 1911. Social Science History 44 (4), pp.585-613. (10.1017/ssh.2020.32)
2019
- You, X. 2019. Women's labour force participation in nineteenth-century England and Wales: evidence from the 1881 census enumerators' books. The Economic History Review 73 (1), pp.106-133. (10.1111/ehr.12876)
Articles
- You, X. and Tertzakian, A. 2026. Child labour and industrialisation: Evidence from factory records and the 1851 British census. The Economic History Review 79 (1), pp.163-188. (10.1111/ehr.70015)
- You, X. 2024. Female relatives and domestic service in 19th-century England and Wales: female kin servants revisited. The Economic History Review 77 (2), pp.444-471. (10.1111/ehr.13276)
- Bogart, D. et al., 2022. Railways, divergence, and structural change in 19th century England and Wales. Journal of Urban Economics 128 103390. (10.1016/j.jue.2021.103390)
- You, X. 2020. Working with Husband? "Occupation's Wife" and Married Women's Employment in the Censuses in England and Wales between 1851 and 1911. Social Science History 44 (4), pp.585-613. (10.1017/ssh.2020.32)
- You, X. 2019. Women's labour force participation in nineteenth-century England and Wales: evidence from the 1881 census enumerators' books. The Economic History Review 73 (1), pp.106-133. (10.1111/ehr.12876)
Research
- Gender, family and work in 18th- and 19th-century Britain
- Child labour during the Industrial Revolution
- Poverty, social welfare, and the New Poor Law
- Transport, urbanisation and economic geography in 18th- and 19th-century Britain
- Industrial Revolution and long-term economic development
Biography
Before joining Cardiff in July 2022, I worked at the Swansea University.
Prior to that, I worked as a research associate at the Cambridge Group for the History of Population and Social Structure where I also received my PhD and remain an affiliated researcher.
Honours and awards
- Economic History Society Carnevali Research Grant, 2024
- Textile History Society Pasold Research Grant, 2024
- Gates Scholarship
Committees and reviewing
- PhD examiner for London School of Economics, 2025.
- Member of Cardiff University Senate, since 2024.
- Member of the advisory board to the ESRC project 'Integrated Census Microdata 1921', 2023-2024.
- Project lead for Economic History in BA programme revalidation, Cardiff University, 2024.
- Reviewer for Nature: Communications, Journal of Economic History, Economic History Review, Feminist Economics, Historical Methods, Journal of Interdisciplenary History, Journal of Historical Geography, Continuity & Change, and Explorations in Economic History.
Supervisions
I welcome enquries from prospective students wishing to undertake research in economic history, particularly in fields aligned with my research interests.
Contact Details
+44 29225 11757
Aberconway Building, Room C09 A, Colum Road, Cathays, Cardiff, CF10 3EU