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Consumption, Social Capital, and the “Industrious Revolution” in Early Modern Germany

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 June 2010

Sheilagh Ogilvie
Sheilagh Ogilvie*
Affiliation:
Professor of Economic History, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge, Sidgwick Avenue, Cambridge CB3 9DD, United Kingdom. E-mail: [email protected].
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Abstract

This study uses evidence from central Europe to address open questions about the Consumer and Industrious Revolutions. Did they happen outside the North Atlantic economies? Were they shaped by the “social capital” of traditional institutions? How were they affected by social constraints on women? It finds that people in central Europe did desire to increase market work and consumption. But elites used the social capital of traditional institutions to oppose new work and consumption practices, especially by women, migrants, and the poor. Although they seldom blocked new practices wholly, they delayed them, limited them socially, and increased their costs.

Type
ARTICLES
Information
The Journal of Economic History , Volume 70 , Issue 2 , June 2010 , pp. 287 - 325
Copyright
Copyright © The Economic History Association 2010

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