The medieval Origins of Capitalism in the Netherlands

van Bavel, Bas (B.J.P.) (2010): The medieval Origins of Capitalism in the Netherlands. Published in: Bijdragen en mededelingen voor de geschiedenis der Nederlanden , Vol. 2-3, No. 125 (2010): pp. 45-80.

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.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Capitalism, History Of Capitalism, Medieval Low Countries
• Subjects: N - Economic History > N0 - General > N00 - General; N - Economic History > N0 - General > N01 - Development of the Discipline: Historiographical; Sources and Methods; N - Economic History > N9 - Regional and Urban History; N - Economic History > N9 - Regional and Urban History > N93 - Europe: Pre-1913; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O1 - Economic Development > O11 - Macroeconomic Analyses of Economic Development; P - Economic Systems > P1 - Capitalist Systems

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