The Beloved Myth: Protestantism and the Rise of Industrial Capitalism in Nineteenth-Century Europe

Was Weber Wrong? A Human Capital Theory of Protestant Economic History*

“…In contrast to the conclusion reached by the existing cross-country evidence (Delacroix and Nielsen 2001), we show that Weber was right in his observation that Protestant regions were economically more affluent than…”

“…In contrast to the existing cross-county work (cf. Delacroix and Nielsen 2001), which may be hampered by the effects of institutional differences across countries, our sub-national analysis from Prussia confirms the basic underlying association purported by the Weber thesis.…”

“…Interpretation" (Delacroix and Nielsen 2001) of the Protestant Ethic which has taken a life of its own, namely the simple emphasis of a "connection between Protestantism and economic progress" (Coleman's 1959 introduction to Samuelson [1957] 1993) in general.…”

“…Several authors (e.g., Delacroix and Nielsen 2001) have argued that the Ruhr area in the west of Prussia was economically thriving because of the mining industry, and despite the Catholic dominance. While the mining variable enters significantly positive in all models, our main associations again remain robust, at a slightly reduced magnitude.…”

“…However, it goes undisputed that the core of his argument is that there is a difference in ethical disposition between Protestants and Catholics that has a significant bearing on economic outcomes. Furthermore, a "common interpretation" (Delacroix and Nielsen 2001) has developed which -rightly or wronglyinterprets Weber's thesis as the view that the rise of industrial capitalism was facilitated in Protestant regions. This is the basic relationship that we test in this paper.…”