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Religious Orders and Growth through Cultural Change in Pre-Industrial England

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  • Thomas Barnebeck Andersen

    (Department of Business and Economics, University of Southern Denmark)

  • Jeanet Bentzen

    (Department of Economics, University of Copenhagen)

  • Carl-Johan Dalgaard

    (Department of Economics, University of Copenhagen)

  • Paul Sharp

    (Department of Economics, University of Copenhagen)

Abstract

We advance the hypothesis that cultural values such as high work ethic and thrift, “the Protestant ethic” according to Max Weber, may have been diffused long before the Reformation, thereby importantly affecting the pre-industrial growth record. The source of pre-Reformation Protestant ethic, according to the proposed theory, was the Catholic Order of Cistercians. Using county-level data for England we find empirically that the frequency of Cistercian monasteries influenced county-level comparative development until 1801; that is, long after the Dissolution of the Monasteries. The pre-industrial development of England may thus have been propelled by a process of growth through cultural change.

Suggested Citation

  • Thomas Barnebeck Andersen & Jeanet Bentzen & Carl-Johan Dalgaard & Paul Sharp, 2011. "Religious Orders and Growth through Cultural Change in Pre-Industrial England," Discussion Papers 11-07, University of Copenhagen. Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:kud:kuiedp:1107
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Blog mentions

    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. The Cistercians, culture, and economic development
      by UDADISI in UDADISI on 2012-07-26 19:13:00
    2. Hvor dybe er tillidens historiske rødder?
      by Christian Bjørnskov in Punditokraterne on 2011-05-13 20:59:56

    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Galor, Oded & Ashraf, Quamrul, 2007. "Cultural Assimilation, Cultural Diffusion and the Origin of the Wealth of Nations," CEPR Discussion Papers 6444, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    2. Fouka, Vasiliki & Schlaepfer, Alain, 2017. "Agricultural Returns to Labor and the Origins of Work Ethics," MPRA Paper 78556, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. İ. Semih Akçomak & Dinand Webbink & Bas Weel, 2016. "Why Did the Netherlands Develop So Early? The Legacy of the Brethren of the Common Life," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 126(593), pages 821-860, June.
    4. Anastasia Litina, 2016. "Natural land productivity, cooperation and comparative development," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 21(4), pages 351-408, December.
    5. Jean-François Carpantier & Anastasia Litina, 2014. "Dissecting the Act of God - An Exploration of the Effect of Religion on Economic Activity," DEM Discussion Paper Series 14-09, Department of Economics at the University of Luxembourg.
    6. Nunn, Nathan, 2014. "Historical Development," Handbook of Economic Growth, in: Philippe Aghion & Steven Durlauf (ed.), Handbook of Economic Growth, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 7, pages 347-402, Elsevier.
    7. Tiago Neves Sequeira & Ricardo Viegas & Alexandra Ferreira-Lopes, 2017. "Income and religion: a heterogeneous panel data analysis," Review of Social Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 75(2), pages 139-158, April.
    8. Jeanet Sinding Bentzen, 2013. "Origins of Religiousness: The Role of Natural Disasters," Discussion Papers 13-02, University of Copenhagen. Department of Economics.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Protestant ethic; Malthusian population dynamics; economic development;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • N13 - Economic History - - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Industrial Structure; Growth; Fluctuations - - - Europe: Pre-1913
    • O11 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Macroeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • Z12 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Religion

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