The Long Road to the Industrial Revolution

Why did the Industrial Revolution happen in Western Europe? Was it a sudden acceleration of the European economy, or should we look at specific institutions arising in Western Europe since the Middle Ages? This book puts these big questions of European economic history in a global perspective, deals with the institutions that developed in Europe, and measures their relative eff...

Why did the Industrial Revolution happen in Western Europe? Was it a sudden acceleration of the European economy, or should we look at specific institutions arising in Western Europe since the Middle Ages? This book puts these big questions of European economic history in a global perspective, deals with the institutions that developed in Europe, and measures their relative efficiency over time and compared with other parts of Eurasia. It traces the growth of human capital in the centuries between 1000 and 1800, in comparison with China, Japan and India. It also demonstrates how important the European Marriage Pattern was for understanding Europe s past. The result is a new synthesis of the origins of the Industrial Revolution.

范赞登，荷兰乌特列支大学经济史教授，国际社会史研究所高级研究员，并担任世界经济史协会的主席。他有大量的作品出版，包括荷兰、欧洲和印尼的经济史。