Why Did the Netherlands Develop So Early? The Legacy of the Brethren of the Common Life

This research establishes a link between the Brethren of the Common Life (BCL), a religious community founded by Geert Groote in Deventer in the late fourteenth century, and the early economic development of the Netherlands. The BCL stimulated human capital accumulation. The historical analyses show that the BCL contributed to the high rates of literacy, to the high level of book production and to city growth in the Netherlands. These findings are supported by a set of OLS regressions and further corroborated by 2SLS estimates that use distance from Deventer as an instrument for the presence o... Mehr ...

Verfasser: Akçomak, İbrahim Semih
WEBBİNK, Dinand
TER WEEL, Bas
Dokumenttyp: Journal article
Erscheinungsdatum: 2016
Schlagwörter: Economic development / Literacy / Religion / Societal change
Sprache: unknown
Permalink: https://search.fid-benelux.de/Record/base-26810308
Datenquelle: BASE; Originalkatalog
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Link(s) : https://hdl.handle.net/11511/31235

This research establishes a link between the Brethren of the Common Life (BCL), a religious community founded by Geert Groote in Deventer in the late fourteenth century, and the early economic development of the Netherlands. The BCL stimulated human capital accumulation. The historical analyses show that the BCL contributed to the high rates of literacy, to the high level of book production and to city growth in the Netherlands. These findings are supported by a set of OLS regressions and further corroborated by 2SLS estimates that use distance from Deventer as an instrument for the presence of the BCL.