Nation, State and the Industrial Revolution

Magnusson, Lars

doi:10.4324/9780203873847

Cited by 26 publications

(11 citation statements)

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“…Some economic historians argue that the state was an active participant in the development of modern capitalist systems (e.g., Gerschenkron, 1966, Magnusson, 2009, Cardoso and Lains, 2010a. For instance, Magnusson (2009) highlights the role of state-funded systems of higher education in science (e.g., institutes of technology) in the industrialization process.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Warfare, fiscal capacity, and performance

2012

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We exploit differences in casualties sustained in pre-modern wars to estimate the impact of fiscal capacity on economic performance. In the past, states fought different amounts of external conflicts, of various lengths and magnitudes. To raise the revenues to wage wars, states made fiscal innovations, which persisted and helped to shape current fiscal institutions. Economic historians claim that greater fiscal capacity was the key long-run institutional change brought about by historical conflicts. Using casualties sustained in pre-modern wars to instrument for current fiscal institutions, we estimate substantial impacts of fiscal capacity on GDP per worker. The results are robust to a broad range of specifications, controls, and sub-samples.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Warfare, fiscal capacity, and performance

2012

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“…Our article also relates to the literature that views the state as an active participant in the development of modern capitalist systems, including Gerschenkron (), Magnusson () and O'Brien (). We provide an econometric counterpart to these works.…”

mentioning

confidence: 95%

State Capacity and Long‐Run Economic Performance

Dincecco

Katz

2014

The Economic Journal

190

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We present new evidence about the long-run relationship between state capacity and economic performance in Europe, the birthplace of modern economic growth. Our database is novel and spans 11 countries and 4 centuries from the Old Regime to World War I. We argue that national governments undertook two political transformations over this period: fiscal centralization and limited government. We find a significant direct relationship between fiscal centralization and economic growth. Furthermore, we find that an increase in the state's capacity to extract greater tax revenues was one mechanism through which both fiscal centralization and, to some extent, limited government played significant economic roles. We believe that our analysis is among the first to show systematic evidence that state capacity is an important determinant of long-run economic growth.

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“…According to this view, the state was always active in controlling and organising the conditions for private enterprise (Kaijser, 1986;Magnusson, 2009). In Sweden, the government not only invested in railway main lines from the mid-1800s but also intervened to protect natural resources as well as promoting commercial interest (Åmark, 1994;Kilander, 1991;Nilsson, 1989;Nilsson, 1994).…”

Section: Sweden 1900 -The Heyday Of Public Organisation?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The trend was that the state intervened in private companies; what Lars Magnusson has called 'the visible hand' of the state (Magnusson, 2009). One explanation for this increase in state control, proposed by historians, has been the concept of path dependency (Andersson-Skog, 1997, pp.…”

Section: Sweden 1900 -The Heyday Of Public Organisation?mentioning

confidence: 99%