Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP18481
Authors: Sibylle Lehmann-Hasemeyer; Fabian Wahl
Abstract: This chapter provides an overview of the historical economic development of regions, their successes and failures, their advances and retreats, which can help to make placebased policies more effective. We review data and literature on regional and urban development from antiquity to 1914, the year of World War I. We discuss common data sets and sources, and go on to reflect on empirical methods and common challenges. We review the historical urban and regional economic literature on the role of the church, the impact of wars, crises, and events that shaped Europe’s cities and regions, then institutions, trade, and finally industrialization. We conclude with an outlook for the future of historical urban and regional economic research.
Keywords: Review; History; Europe; Persistence
JEL Codes: A33; N01; N13; N93; R10
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| The historical presence of the church and its institutions (B15) | Faster productivity growth in areas exposed to certain monastic orders (O49) |
| Crises such as the Black Death (N93) | Regions affected by such shocks often experienced long-term economic advantages (F69) |
| Wars (D74) | Urban growth (R11) |
| Historical conflicts (D74) | Inequality (D63) |
| Areas that were part of the Roman Empire, particularly those close to Roman roads (N93) | Higher levels of economic development today (O49) |