Value, and Impact on Human Development

This article argues that the development of social science’s impact on policy-making has oddly overlooked history. In recent years, however, history has been broadening its position as a “policy science.” While historians may not have access to some of the methodological tools used by other social sciences, they have the analytical tools that allow them to interpret the ‘past’ in a rigorous and relevant way. As a result, ‘learning from history’ may be done without being reductionist or prescriptive. To illustrate the basic concept, specific cases from the writers’ fields of expertise -history of health policy and public health, history of alcohol policy, and history of childhood- are used.