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The medieval Origins of Capitalism in the Netherlands

Author

Listed:
  • van Bavel, Bas (B.J.P.)
Abstract
Large parts of the Netherlands saw an early rise in market traffic during the late Middle Ages already. Exchange via the market became the dominant form not only for goods, but also for land, labour and capital, and this during the course of the sixteenth century already. This contribution investigates why it should be that the market form of exchange arose so early here specifically; how markets were organised as institutions and how they functioned. It will be demonstrated that the markets here had a favourable organisation, with low transaction costs, a high level of integration of the markets and a large degree of certainty for parties entering these markets. Nevertheless, the consequences of the rise of the market were not all positive. The rise of a market economy did not lead to any appreciable economic growth, while the social effects were largely negative. Social polarisation, pollution and the need to work ever harder depressed standards of living for most people in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

Suggested Citation

  • van Bavel, Bas (B.J.P.), 2010. "The medieval Origins of Capitalism in the Netherlands," MPRA Paper 49555, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:49555
    as

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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    12. van Bavel, Bas (B.J.P.), 2003. "Early Proto-industrialization in the Low Countries? The Importance and Nature of Market-oriented Non-agricultural Activities on the Countryside in Flanders and Holland," MPRA Paper 42361, University Library of Munich, Germany.
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    Cited by:

    1. Joris Roosen & Daniel R. Curtis, 2019. "The ‘light touch’ of the Black Death in the Southern Netherlands: an urban trick?," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 72(1), pages 32-56, February.
    2. Robertson, Jeffrey & Funnell, Warwick, 2012. "The Dutch East-India Company and accounting for social capital at the dawn of modern capitalism 1602–1623," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 37(5), pages 342-360.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Capitalism; History Of Capitalism; Medieval Low Countries;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • N00 - Economic History - - General - - - General
    • N01 - Economic History - - General - - - Development of the Discipline: Historiographical; Sources and Methods
    • N9 - Economic History - - Regional and Urban History
    • N93 - Economic History - - Regional and Urban History - - - Europe: Pre-1913
    • O11 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Macroeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • P1 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Capitalist Economies

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