Between about 1885 and 1920, British economics grew into a professional, primarily academic, discipline. With the revitalization of Oxford and Cambridge during the 1880s and the establishment of new universities in major industrial and urban centers during the next two decades, historical economists vied with theoretical economists for a still limited number of academic positions in economics. While Cunningham and Foxwell struggled to advance the claims of historical economics at a Cambridge increasingly dominated by Marshall, neoclassical economic theory failed to find an effective leader in F.Y. Edgeworth at Oxford. However, historical economics flourished at Oxford during the 1880s. This was largely due to the remarkable influence of Arnold Toynbee, T.H. Green, and the vigorous tradition of historical research then current in Oxford among such students as W.J. Ashley, L.L. Price, and W.A.S. Hewins. Among the major figures, only Price remained at Oxford to promote a cautious version of historical economics and economic history. Ashley, after an illustrious career across the Atlantic, returned to England in 1900 as the first head of the Birmingham Faculty of Commerce. Hewins became the first director of the London School of Economics and Political Science in 1895.

The work of Leslie and Rogers primarily treated agricultural topics and criticized society for having failed to maintain a balanced economy. This theme found a powerful echo in the work of the later historical economists and indeed constituted one of the constant themes within this tradition. However, the emphasis of the later group was on Britain's industrial and commercial circumstances as they sought to confront the problems of a mature industrial economy faced with growing international economic and political competition.