Does medieval trade still matter? Historical trade centers, agglomeration and contemporary economic development

Abstract

Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen:Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden.Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen.Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. Terms of use: Documents in AbstractThis study empirically establishes a link between medieval trade, agglomeration and contemporary regional development in ten European countries. It documents a statistically and economically significant positive relationship between prominent involvement in medieval trade and commercial activities and regional economic development today. Further empirical analyses show that medieval trade positively influenced city development both during the medieval period and in the long run; they also reveal a robust connection between medieval city growth and contemporary regional agglomeration and industry concentration. A mediation analysis indicates that a long-lasting effect of medieval trade on contemporary regional development is indeed transmitted via its effect on agglomeration and industry concentration. This research thus highlights the long-run importance of medieval trade in shaping the development of cities as well as the contemporary spatial distribution of economic activity throughout Europe. The path-dependent regional development processes caused by medieval commercial activities help explain the observed persistent regional development differences across the European countries considered.

The imperial roots of global trade

“…This paper also advances our understanding of historical legacies by focusing on the case of international trade. While there is much evidence that empires played an important role in shaping institutions and culture, we highlight how empires also shaped bilateral affinities between countries and how these, in turn, influence world trade, which we know is a major driver of economic growth (Feyrer 2009;Pascali 2017;Donaldson 2018;Wahl 2016).…”

The Investigation into Determinants of Regional Exports Base: Panel Analysis for Spanish and Polish Regions

“…Cassey (2011) confirms that exports are highly concentrated regionally and border regions export more than interior ones. Wahl (2016) has shown the consequences of the existence of historical trade centres and contemporary development that are transmitted through agglomeration processes, which in the light of the research on regions' exports brings important conclusions about the role of historical factors. Pradhan and Zohair (2016) have identified spatial differences that influence heterogeneity in the exports performance of regions.…”

The Diffusion of Urban Medieval Representation: The Dominican Order as an Engine of Regime Change

“…Using a difference-in-difference design, I find that representative institutions were more likely to emerge when the Dominican order was present in a city. Previous research on the causes of urban regime change have highlighted the role of the Church in general (Møller 2018;Belloc, Drago, and Galbiati 2016;Tabacco 1989;Post 1964), the lack of central authority (Dutaillis 1978;Stasavage 2016;Blockmans 1978), warfare (Levi 1988;Tilly 2003;Bates 2010;Dincecco and Wang 2018), and the revitalization of trade and proto-industry (Wahl 2015;Abramson and Boix 2019). I show that none of these alternative explanations can account for my results.…”

“…There is a large literature that attempts to explain these developments (see Stasavage 2011, 96-106). The two most influential explanations are the "bellicist" literature, which argues that the cost of warfare has driven rulers to bargain revenue for representation (Levi 1988;Tilly 2003;Bates 2010), and the "endowment" literature which argues that a revitalization of trade and proto-industry strengthened the bargaining position of urban centers vis-à-vis their rulers, which allowed them to gain political influence (Wahl 2015;Abramson and Boix 2019). In the empirical strategy section, I elaborate on how I eliminate these alternative explanations.…”