Florian Schui is Professor of History at the University of St.Gallen. His research interests include the history of economic and political ideas and economic history. He is particularly interested in the interaction between changing economic ideas, ideals and realities. Currently Schui is working on a research project about the rise and fall of Keynesianism in the 20th century.
Another research focus is Professor Schui’s work on the history of public finances and taxation. In his book Austerity: The Great Failure (hardcover and paperback with Yale UP), he examines the historical background and intellectual foundations of today’s austerity policies. The book has been translated into German and Portuguese; it is in part based on research carried out with the support of a Research Fellowship from the Leverhulme Trust. Further publications about the history of public finances include the edited volume Global Debates about Taxation (Palgrave Macmillan). A Chinese edition of this work was published by Shanghai University of Finance & Economics Press.
Schui has also published extensively on the history of the Enlightenment period. In his monograph Rebellious Prussians: Urban Political Culture in Prussia under Frederick the Great (Oxford UP), he explores the relation between state and public in Prussia in the 18th century in a wider European context. Further publications about the history of the long 18th century century include the book Early Debates about Industry: Voltaire and his Contemporaries (Palgrave Macmillan) and a number of journal articles.
Schui studied Economics at the New School for Social Research in New York, where he was a Fulbright scholar, and History at the Ruhr-Universität Bochum. He did his PhD in History at the University of Cambridge. Before taking up his position at the University of St.Gallen he worked at the University of Cambridge, at the National University of Ireland, Galway, and at Royal Holloway, University of London. Schui is liason lecturer (Vertrauensdozent) for the Hans Böckler Foundation.
