Simulating early modern economic growth

Authors

  • Jan Luiten Van Zanden

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1016/S1698-6989(05)70001-1

Keywords:

Economic growth, Europe, Measurement, N13, O47, O57

Abstract

The paper discusses different attempts to measure economic growth in Europe before the Industrial Revolution. It is argued that the figures published by Angus Maddison probably overestimate growth between 1000 and 1820. Next, a method for simulating long-term patterns of growth is presented, and the results of this experiment, i.e. annual time series for the most important European countries, are discussed. It is concluded that growth was very slow between c 1450 and c 1800 —with the notable exceptions of England and the Netherlands— and that between c 1000 and c 1450, GDP per capita increased probably faster than in the centuries before the Industrial Revolution.

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How to Cite

Van Zanden, J. L. (2019). Simulating early modern economic growth. Investigaciones De Historia Económica, 1(2), 9–38. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1698-6989(05)70001-1

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ARTICLES