The Decline of Serfdom and the Origins of the ‘Little Divergence’

2021 ◽  
pp. 283-325
Author(s):  
Mark Bailey
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Economic Consequences ◽  
Institutional Characteristics ◽  
Institutional Changes ◽  
Black Death ◽  
Marriage Pattern ◽  
European Economic ◽  
Contractual Arrangements ◽  
Agricultural Employment ◽  
Factor Markets

This chapter explores the main social and economic consequences of plague between the 1340s and the 1390s. In 1400 England was still not at the forefront of European economic development, but it was beginning to close the gap on the leaders. GDP per head, the proportion of people in non-agricultural employment, and the livestock share of agriculture had all increased irreversibly. Dependence upon the market for basic commodities and manufactures had increased, and population and taxable wealth were spread more equitably across the country, reducing the economic divide between the south-east and the rest of the country. Recent arguments that the European Marriage Pattern (EMP)—one of the main institutional characteristics of the Little Divergence—was established in England soon after the Black Death are assessed on the basis of the economic and demographic evidence. Serfdom had declined quickly and significantly, and the implications of the English experience for our understanding of the decline of European serfdom are explored. The main institutional changes in factor markets in general, and the spread of contractual arrangements in particular, are considered. By 1400 the main changes had worked their way through the economy, and further significant developments did not occur until population began to rise again in the sixteenth century.

From Black Death to Black Hole

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcin Piatkowski
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Black Hole ◽  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Black Death ◽  
European Continent ◽  
The Past

In this chapter I explain why Poland and most countries in Eastern Europe have always lagged behind Western Europe in economic development. I discuss why in the past the European continent split into two parts and how Western and Eastern Europe followed starkly different developmental paths. I then demonstrate how Polish oligarchic elites built extractive institutions and how they adopted ideologies, cultures, and values, which undermined development from the late sixteenth century to 1939. I also describe how the elites created a libertarian country without taxes, state capacity, and rule of law, and how this ‘golden freedom’ led to Poland’s collapse and disappearance from the map of Europe in 1795. I argue that Polish extractive society was so well established that it could not reform itself from the inside. It was like a black hole, where the force of gravity is so strong that the light could not come out.

Corneto-Tarquinia and the Italian Mercantile Republics: The Earliest Evidence

1974 ◽  
Vol 42 ◽  
pp. 224-234 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Abulafia
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Twelfth Century ◽  
Luxury Goods ◽  
High Class ◽  
European Economic

On balance far more is known of trade in luxury goods during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries than of trade in essential foodstuffs and minerals such as wheat and salt. This is surprising in a way, because the sources that refer to commodity movements, such as commercial treaties, are often far more eloquent on vital topics such as grain than they are on the myriad luxury items that passed through Acre, Messina and other great ports of the late twelfth century. Partly this emphasis on high-class goods has been the responsibility of recent historians, who saw in the spasms of Mediterranean trade the key to European economic development; partly it is the fault of the treaties and privileges that survive, for there is no knowing whether, say, two hundred salmae of wheat that a monastery was allowed to export free of tolls represented all its export capacity, part of that capacity, or an amount normally well above that capacity—a purely notional figure.

scholarly journals Efficiency Problems in the System of Key National Indicators

2012 ◽  
pp. 168-171
Author(s):  
E. A. Brendeleva
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Social Welfare ◽  
Development Strategy ◽  
The State ◽  
Institutional Characteristics ◽  
National Economies ◽  
The Way

The article talks about the key national indicators characterizing economic development, as well as the problems associated with the aims set in the framework of these indicators. The paper also looks at the possible changes in the existing system to asses the state of national economies and social welfare, as well as in the way institutional characteristics of a particular country are considered in this system, with the final aim of deciding on the states’ long term development strategy.

scholarly journals The Economic Consequences of the Mexican Drug War

2016 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 213-246 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jose Roberto Balmori de la Miyar
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Economic Consequences ◽  
Synthetic Control ◽  
Control Methods ◽  
Military Operations ◽  
Drug War ◽  
Synthetic Control Methods ◽  
Mexican Drug War ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
Proportional Reduction

AbstractMilitary crackdowns often disrupt economic development by exacerbating violence. This paper examines the case of the Mexican Drug War, employing synthetic control methods. To prove causality, I use variation on statewide military operations, as well as the rollout of the war. Findings indicate a decrease in GDP per capita equal to 0.5%, in states with military operations. Determinants by which the Mexican Drug War hampered economic development include a proportional reduction in consumption per capita, and a decline in productive investment of at least 0.3%, driven by a drop of 3.2% in commercial credit granted to businesses.

An equilibrium path for institutional change in China

2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 399-414
Author(s):  
Shixiong Cao ◽  
Zhiguang Ren
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Institutional Change ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Dynamic Equilibrium ◽  
Institutional Changes ◽  
Equilibrium Path ◽  
New Era ◽  
The Past ◽  
Economic Practices ◽  
New Institutions

China’s economic and political reforms since 1978 represent one of the biggest institutional changes in the last century. Because most research has focused on the economics of institutional change rather than the evolution of political institutions, a theoretical framework to explain China’s rapid economic development is lacking. To understand the successes and failures of China’s institutional change, we reviewed China’s innovative political and economic practices during the past 30 years. We found that the country’s political and economic institutions combine to form a dynamic equilibrium that can explain the impressive economic results. China’s leaders dream of new institutions that will improve upon traditional Western capitalism, based on a combination of central planning with traditional capitalist approaches that increase the system’s flexibility. If China’s leaders can combine this approach with decreased social costs compared with previous socioeconomic systems, this will represent a new era and a model that other nations can follow.

scholarly journals State debt management in the context of Ukraine's economic development

2020 ◽  
pp. 21-25
Author(s):  
Artem HUSIEV
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Public Debt ◽  
The State ◽  
Economic Consequences ◽  
Debt Management ◽  
Optimal Decision ◽  
Main Task ◽  
State Budget ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Debt Policy

The paper explores the theoretical and methodological basis of the concept of public debt management. The relationship between the problem of public debt and economic development of the country has been revealed. The dynamics of Ukraine's public debt for the period 2010-2019 have been analyzed. The default as a means of state debt policy has been investigated and its main economic consequences are presented. The international experience of managing public debt on the example of Argentina has been analyzed. The economic essence of technical default has been defined and the concept of technical default as a priority direction of Ukraine's state debt policy in the current conditions has been proposed. Public debt is a set of State commitments to internal and external creditors. State debt Management provides for state creation of the concept of debt policy. In economic terms, the main task of debt management is to maintain the level of public debt on a moderate level. In Ukraine, the problem of state indebtedness is particularly relevant after 2014. However, the most acute this problem was at the beginning of 2020 with the beginning of the recession economy and raising the deficit of the State budget. There are three main strategies to address public debt: investing in the country's economic development and timely repayment of liabilities, default and technical default. The strategy of investing in the country's economic development envisages emission of money or additional involvement in order to stimulate economic development, as well as timely payment of debts and interests. This strategy is appropriate in terms of relatively small amounts of public debt. Defaulted involves declaring the state insolvency payment obligations to creditors. Defaulted in the short run means a rapid deterioration in the economic situation in the country, but under certain conditions, there may be positive consequences in the long run. The technical default means the state's inability to pay debts on a certain date if there is a possibility of their payment in the future. In Ukraine today, the optimal decision of the state debt policy is the proclamation of technical default to restructure debts and prevent aggravation of socio-economic crisis in the country.

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