Economic History Review最新文献

In this study, we explore the long-run effects of Swedish and Polish–Lithuanian imperial legacies in the Baltic region. Using a robust regression discontinuity design, we identify persistent differences in socio-economic development across the South Livonia–Courland and the South Livonia–Lettgallia borders that emerged as a result of the Altmark Truce (1629) between Sweden and Poland–Lithuania. We find that there is a positive post-imperial persistence of the Swedish legacy that explains modern Baltic development. Our results are robust to the RD estimation of the post-1629 Swedish–Swedish border between North Livonia and Estland, the Pale of Settlement, spatial noise, placebo outcomes, and the introduction of a quadratic polynomial, as well as different bandwidths. Higher historical shares of Lutherans, Germans, and landowners may predict higher levels of contemporary socio-economic development in the Swedish partition of South Livonia than in the Polish–Lithuanian partitions of Courland and Lettgallia.

Rönnbäck, K. & Theodoridis, D. (2022). Cotton cultivation under colonial rule in India in the nineteenth century from a comparative perspective. Economic History Review, 75, 374–395. https://doi.org/10.1111/ehr.13094

In paragraph 3 on page 375, the sentence “Labour costs per unit of output in India were therefore roughly twice those of the US at around the same time” was incorrect. This should have read “Labour costs per unit of output in the US were on average roughly twice those in India at around the same time”.

We apologize for this error.

This paper exploits ancient textual sources to develop a database of ancient trade in the Indian Ocean and model trade in the region during the Iron Age. Wind-speed data are used to construct a gravity model of trade and are combined with detailed textual data from the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea to analyse historical development trends in the Indian Ocean. Whilst distance was an important factor in maritime trade, the speed of travel was the defining feature, with a substantially non-linear effect. Trade is shown to be lower between locations that are close together with similar export baskets, reinforcing an endowment-based, Ricardian specification of the gravity model for this period. Additionally, there is significant evidence for both export-led growth and an ancient version of the ‘resource curse’. Cities that export a greater variety of goods exhibited a significant increase in density during the period. Similarly, areas around cities with exports that relied more heavily on manufactures and artisanal goods grew at a faster rate than areas around cities that focused more on cash crops.

We study art trade in New York between 1870 and 1970, analysing returns on investment by the renowned Knoedler gallery to shed light on the evolution of the American art market. A generalist art gallery should allocate investments to equalize expected returns, with differences in effective returns depending on purchase prices, number of traded works per artists, search costs, and shocks. We confirm these principles, finding that returns were higher for cheaper artworks, by more frequently traded artists, in stock for a shorter time, after solo exhibitions for the authors, or during booms and after the death of the artists. A key interest in the story of New York's leading gallery is in its connection with the history of American art over a crucial century. We find that the returns on European old masters follow an inverse U-shape, peaking during the First World War and declining thereafter, whilst the returns on American modern artists increase consistently throughout the century. This pattern aligns with a shift in demand towards American art that began in the 1920s and was instrumental in promoting the innovations of the New York school from Abstract Expressionism to Pop Art.

This article investigates the impact of local political institutions on inequality in eastern England between c. 1350 and c. 1550. Specifically, it examines the extent to which wealthier individuals controlled local governance structures in the form of manor courts through linking the identities of individuals who served as manorial officials with the rent payments made by tenants as a measure of landed wealth. This provides two key findings. Firstly, there was no straightforward relationship between political power and landed wealth, with many villages witnessing no correlation between higher rent payments and officeholding. Secondly, even the communities which were marked by a clear relationship between wealth and officeholding were not those characterized by higher levels of overall inequality, suggesting that elite control of local political structures did not necessarily increase inequality. The findings highlight both practical limitations which prevented local elites dominating political power structures and the continuing importance of non-economic status markers and cultures of community-building in preventing political rent-seeking by wealthy elites. They support recent calls to better consider the equalizing impacts of communal structures in explaining patterns of pre-industrial inequality, but also models that highlight the growth of state-level institutions in explaining growing patterns of inequality in the early modern era.

This article investigates the impact of local political institutions on inequality in eastern England between c. 1350 and c. 1550. Specifically, it examines the extent to which wealthier individuals controlled local governance structures in the form of manor courts through linking the identities of individuals who served as manorial officials with the rent payments made by tenants as a measure of landed wealth. This provides two key findings. Firstly, there was no straightforward relationship between political power and landed wealth, with many villages witnessing no correlation between higher rent payments and officeholding. Secondly, even the communities which were marked by a clear relationship between wealth and officeholding were not those characterized by higher levels of overall inequality, suggesting that elite control of local political structures did not necessarily increase inequality. The findings highlight both practical limitations which prevented local elites dominating political power structures and the continuing importance of non-economic status markers and cultures of community-building in preventing political rent-seeking by wealthy elites. They support recent calls to better consider the equalizing impacts of communal structures in explaining patterns of pre-industrial inequality, but also models that highlight the growth of state-level institutions in explaining growing patterns of inequality in the early modern era.

How do famines shape the health of survivors? We examine the long-term impact of the Great Irish Famine (1845–52) on human stature, distinguishing between adverse scarring effects and the apparent resilience of survivors due to selection. Using anthropometric data from more than 14500 individuals born before, during, and after this famine, we find that selection effects were most pronounced in areas with the highest mortality rates. Individuals born in severely affected regions exhibited no evidence of stunted growth, indicating that the Famine disproportionately eliminated the most vulnerable. In contrast, stunting is observed only in areas with lower excess mortality, where selective pressures were weaker. These findings contribute to debates on the biological consequences of extreme catastrophic risks, demonstrating how selection effects can obscure long-term health deterioration. More broadly, our study provides a methodological framework for assessing selection in historical anthropometric research.

How do famines shape the health of survivors? We examine the long-term impact of the Great Irish Famine (1845–52) on human stature, distinguishing between adverse scarring effects and the apparent resilience of survivors due to selection. Using anthropometric data from more than 14500 individuals born before, during, and after this famine, we find that selection effects were most pronounced in areas with the highest mortality rates. Individuals born in severely affected regions exhibited no evidence of stunted growth, indicating that the Famine disproportionately eliminated the most vulnerable. In contrast, stunting is observed only in areas with lower excess mortality, where selective pressures were weaker. These findings contribute to debates on the biological consequences of extreme catastrophic risks, demonstrating how selection effects can obscure long-term health deterioration. More broadly, our study provides a methodological framework for assessing selection in historical anthropometric research.