Princes and Merchants: European City Growth before the Industrial Revolution / J. Bradford De Long, Andrei Shleifer.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

De Long, J. Bradford.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Shleifer, Andrei.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w4274.

NBER working paper series no. w4274

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Other Title:

Princes and Merchants

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 1993.

Summary:

As measured by the pace of city growth in western Europe from 1000 to 1800. absolutist monarchs stunted the growth of commerce and industry. A region ruled by an absolutist prince saw its total urban population shrink by one hundred thousand people per century relative to a region without absolutist government. This might be explained by higher rates of taxation under revenue-maximizing absolutist governments than under non-absolutist governments. which care more about general economic prosperity and less about State revenue.

Notes:

Print version record

February 1993.