In discussions on European pre-modern economic growth, the role of individual freedom and of the state has loomed large. This book examines whether different kinds of 'freedoms' (absolutist, parliamentary and republican) caused different economic outcomes, and shows the effect of different political regimes on long term development. It thus offers new answers to debates on the transition from feudalism to capitalism and on the causes of pre-industrial growth and divergence.

Contents:
1. Introduction: states and markets
2. Freedom, freedoms and growth
3. The late Medieval crisis as an 'integration crisis'
4. States and fairs
5. Cities and the rise of Italian territorial states
6. The origins of protoindustry, c.1300-c.1550
7. Markets and states, c.1300-c.1550
8. Conclusion freedoms and growth

For a long time guilds have been condemned as a major obstacle to economic progress in the pre-industrial era. This re-examination of the role of guilds in the early modern European economy challenges that view by taking into account fresh research on innovation, technological change and entrepreneurship. Leading economic historians argue that industry before the Industrial Revolution was much more innovative than previous studies have allowed for and explore the different products and production techniques that were launched and developed in this period. Much of this innovation was fostered by the craft guilds that formed the backbone of industrial production before the rise of the steam engine. The book traces the manifold ways in which guilds in a variety of industries in Italy, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Britain helped to create an institutional environment conducive to technological and marketing innovations.

Relations between town and country are central to Europe's long-term economic, political and social evolution. This 2001 book surveys and re-interprets these relations in particular countries and regions in the light of the most recent debates on state formation, urbanisation, proto-industrialisation, and the regional character of pre-modern economic growth. Thirteen specially commissioned chapters, ranging chronologically from the Black Death to the Enlightenment, give a comprehensive coverage of Europe, from Spain to Sweden and England, and from the Polish Commonwealth to Holland and Italy. Each chapter offers a self-contained analysis of its country or region and provides a basis for systematic comparison. The Introduction (by S. R. Epstein) discusses the historiographical and theoretical framework for the regional chapters, emphasising how evolving political configurations changed the balance between 'coercive' and 'market-based' solutions to town-country relations and set countries on different paths to growth.

This book offers the first survey of relations between town and country across Europe between the Black Death and the Enlightenment. Thirteen specially commissioned chapters give comprehensive coverage, from Spain to Sweden, and from the Polish Commonwealth to the Netherlands and Italy. Each chapter analyzes its country in the light of recent debates on state formation, urbanization, protoindustrialization, and the regional character of premodern economic growth. The Introduction discusses the historiographical and theoretical framework for systematic comparison, emphasizing how alternative political configurations could set countries on different paths to growth.

For a long time guilds have been condemned as a major obstacle to economic progress in the pre-industrial era. This re-examination of the role of guilds in the early modern European economy challenges that view by taking into account fresh research on innovation, technological change and entrepreneurship. Leading economic historians argue that industry before the Industrial Revolution was much more innovative than previous studies have allowed for and explore the different products and production techniques that were launched and developed in this period. Much of this innovation was fostered by the craft guilds that formed the backbone of industrial production before the rise of the steam engine. The book traces the manifold ways in which guilds in a variety of industries in Italy, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Britain helped to create an institutional environment conducive to technological and marketing innovations.