Bas van Bavel | Utrecht University (original) (raw)

Market economies, capitalism by Bas van Bavel

Back to the future: How economic history can gain more relevance by abandoning modernization thinking, 2024

Economic history has built a solid scientific foundation over the past decades but may need to en... more Economic history has built a solid scientific foundation over the past decades but may need to enhance its academic and societal relevance. Ways to do so could include a clearer focus on societal issues and using history as a ‘laboratory’ in which to investigate these, strengthening multidisciplinary collaboration, better incorporating social and environmental dimensions, and abandoning modernization thinking to fully employ periods further back in time and across the globe as sources of relevant knowledge.

Journal of Economic Surveys, 2024

Economists and social scientists have widely contributed to the so-called "Beyond GDP" debate-the... more Economists and social scientists have widely contributed to the so-called "Beyond GDP" debate-the view that current measures of economic growth are inadequate to measure well-being and multidimensional indicators. While economic history has not been prominent in these debates, multidimensional indicators have captured the interest of economic historians, with both theoretical and empirical contributions. In this contribution, we examine the areas of consensus

Journal of Institutional Economics, 2021

The advances in economic and social history over the past years enabled me to empirically test as... more The advances in economic and social history over the past years enabled me to empirically test assumptions about the long-run development of markets. The review by Geoff Hodgson of the resulting book, The Invisible Hand?, is lucid but incomplete. I argue that the rise to dominance of factor markets, followed by that of financial markets, took place already in several early cases, and that all market economies, through an endogenous process, saw the accumulation of wealth and, next, the translation of this wealth into political leverage, creating a feedback loop with negative outcomes which is very hard to break.

Human Development Report, 2019

My contribution to the Human Development Report 2019, Beyond income, beyond averages, beyond toda... more My contribution to the Human Development Report 2019, Beyond income, beyond averages, beyond today: Inequalities in human development in the 21st century, United Nations Development Programme (New York, 2019) pp. 60-63.
For the full report: http://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/hdr2019.pdf

This paper reconstructs the organization and development of factor markets in early medieval Iraq... more This paper reconstructs the organization and development of factor markets in early medieval Iraq. It shows that from the late Sasanian period on, and accelerating in the early Islamic period, there was a relatively unrestricted functioning of markets for goods, labour, and capital. This stimulated market exchange, associated with growing monetization of the economy, especially in the towns, but also in the countryside, even though coercion remained more pronounced there. We hypothesize that these developments brought economic dynamism but simultaneously increased inequality and furthered the rise of new, powerful elite groups, causing the decline of the same markets

Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, 2014

Socio-Economic Review, 2019

It is often assumed that the market economy and the open society reinforce each other and have ri... more It is often assumed that the market economy and the open society reinforce each other and have risen together. Even those who are more skeptical about their long-run compatibility will usually agree that the rise of the two was part of a process of modernization, starting in early modern England and unfolding in the modern West. This article builds on the latest historical research to reject this assumption. It shows that several market economies existed much earlier in history. These were all preceded by social movements generating a more open society. In each of these cases, the functioning of the market economy slowly eroded social and, next, political openness, and later shriveled itself again. This endogenous, cycle-like process, in which the interaction of the market economy and the open society developed from positive to negative, may also be seen in modern cases, including the present USA.

Economic History Review, 2018

This article contributes to the ongoing debate on the causes of the great divergence by comparing... more This article contributes to the ongoing debate on the causes of the great divergence by comparing the use of expensive labour-saving capital goods—water-mills, windmills, and cranes—in medieval western Europe and the Middle East. Using novel ways of measuring, we find that whereas the use of these goods increased in Europe, in the Middle East their prevalence decreased, or they were not used at all. We investigate several possible explanations and reject most of them, including religion, geography, technological knowledge, and disparities in wages and cost of capital. Our analysis shows that differences in lordship systems and the security of property rights best explain the patterns found.

The conventional view of markets for land, labour, and capital as a modern, Western phenomenon is... more The conventional view of markets for land, labour, and capital as a modern, Western phenomenon is questionable. Factor markets did indeed exist in Iraq, and even thrived, in various parts of its pre-modern history, including the period around 2000 BCE, the “long” sixth century (c. 620-480 BCE) and the eighth and ninth centuries CE. By employing the long-term approach used in the special theme issue and by placing the organization of these markets in their wider social-political context, we can understand better how these markets developed, how they functioned, and why they rose and declined again.

Continuity and …, Jan 1, 2009

Markets for labour, land and capital play important roles in the longterm evolution of economies... more Markets for labour, land and capital play important roles in the longterm
evolution of economies. In the course of recent centuries, the exchange
of land, labour and capital by way of the market – whereby prices
are mainly determined by supply and demand – has become ever more
important. These exchanges increasingly replaced other systems of exchange and allocation, such as those by way of tribute, voluntary redistribution or systems applying some type of coercion, as in the manorial
system. This rise of what are termed ‘factor markets ’, occurring most
conspicuously in Western Europe, has had profound effects on economic
development. Most economic historians – whether from neo-classical,
neo-institutionalist or neo-Marxist schools – would agree that mobility of
factors of production, specialization and technological change are often
linked with, or promoted by, the rise of wage labour, land leases and
large-scale loans and investments, and the concomitant market competition.
The growth of factor markets is a not a unilinear process, however,
but one fraught with stagnation, crises and even the reversal of trends.
Moreover, the process displays striking regional differences.

The Invisible Hand offers a radical departure from the conventional wisdom of economists and econ... more The Invisible Hand offers a radical departure from the conventional wisdom of economists and economic historians, by showing that 'factor markets' and the economies dominated by them - the market economies - are not modern, but have existed at various times in the past. They rise, stagnate, and decline; and consist of very different combinations of institutions embedded in very different societies. These market economies create flexibility and high mobility in the exchange of land, labour, and capital, and initially they generate economic growth, although they also build on existing social structures, as well as existing exchange and allocation systems. The dynamism that results from the rise of factor markets leads to the rise of new market elites who accumulate land and capital, and use wage labour extensively to make their wealth profitable. In the long term, this creates social polarization and a decline of average welfare. As these new elites gradually translate their economic wealth into political leverage, it also creates institutional sclerosis, and finally makes these markets stagnate or decline again. This process is analysed across the three major, pre-industrial examples of successful market economies in western Eurasia: Iraq in the early Middle Ages, Italy in the high Middle Ages, and the Low Countries in the late Middle Ages and the early modern period, and then parallels drawn to England and the United States in the modern period. These areas successively saw a rapid rise of factor markets and the associated dynamism, followed by stagnation, which enables an in-depth investigation of the causes and results of this process.

theme issue Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient 57.2 (2014)., 2014

Even though markets have become a major topic in recent historiography, there are few studies inv... more Even though markets have become a major topic in recent historiography, there are few studies investigating the shifts in the importance of markets and their functioning over the very long run. The present volume offers such a long- term study, by focusing on the case of ancient and medieval Iraq. Markets existed in Iraq from early in its history. At various points in that history they even formed a main system of exchange and allocation in Iraq. This applies not only to the markets for goods and products but also to those for land, labour, and capital—that is, to the factor markets, on which we will concentrate in this volume. The long presence of markets makes Iraq an apt case for an investigation of the formation, functioning, and effects of these markets over the long run. In this volume, we will undertake such an investigation for the period from c. 700 BCE to c. 1100 CE, that is, roughly from the neo-Babylonian to the Abbasid period.

Working Papers

Although the importance of the institutional approach for understanding pre-industrial economic d... more Although the importance of the institutional approach for understanding pre-industrial economic development is widely accepted, it has proven to be difficult to assess, let alone to quantify the effects of institutions on the functioning of markets in this era. In this paper we demonstrate to what degree our empirical research on the rise of markets in late medieval Holland can illuminate the factors behind the development of the specific institutional framework of markets for land, labour, capital and goods, and the effects of these institutions on the actual functioning of the markets. The findings are corroborated by a comparative approach focusing on Flanders and Eastern England: the parts of Northwest Europe where, next to Holland, economic development was most precocious. Both regions, however, were hit hard by the effects of the Black Death, whereas Holland after the mid-fourteenth century underwent remarkable further growth, even despite ecological difficulties. The favourable organisation of markets, enabled by an exceptional balance in Holland society, played a key role in this success

Large parts of the Netherlands saw an early rise in market traffic during the late Middle Ages al... more Large parts of the Netherlands saw an early rise in market traffic during the late Middle Ages already. Exchange via the market became the dominant form not only for goods, but also for land, labour and capital, and this during the course of the sixteenth century already. This contribution investigates why it should be that the market form of exchange arose so early here specifically; how markets were organised as institutions and how they functioned. It will be demonstrated that the markets here had a favourable organisation, with low transaction costs, a high level of integration of the markets and a large degree of certainty for parties entering these markets. Nevertheless, the consequences of the rise of the market were not all positive. The rise of a market economy did not lead to any appreciable economic growth, while the social effects were largely negative. Social polarisation, pollution and the need to work ever harder depressed standards of living for most people in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

Journal of Interdisciplinary History, Jan 1, 2011

Comparative analysis of the markets for land, labor, and capital in north-central Italy and the L... more Comparative analysis of the markets for land, labor, and capital in north-central Italy and the Low Countries in the late Middle Ages and the early modern period reveals that urbanization in itself was not the crucial variable in the quality and effect of developing factor markets. More important was the counterweight offered in this process by territorial lords and rural interests to the influence of urban elites. If this counterweight was missing, urban elites could exploit factor markets to their own ends.

Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, 2014

This paper reconstructs the organization and development of factor markets in early medieval Iraq... more This paper reconstructs the organization and development of factor markets in early medieval Iraq. It shows that from the late Sasanian period on, and accelerating in the early Islamic period, there was a relatively unrestricted functioning of markets for goods, labour, and capital. This stimulated market exchange, associated with growing monetization of the economy, especially in the towns, but also in the countryside, even though coercion remained more pronounced there. We hypothesize that these
developments brought economic dynamism but simultaneously increased inequality and furthered the rise of new, powerful elite groups, causing the decline of the same markets.

Resilience and vulnerability of societies by Bas van Bavel

Humanities and social sciences communications 8, 76 (2021), 2021

Inequality of wealth and its associated power has varied greatly over human history. It is often ... more Inequality of wealth and its associated power has varied greatly over human history. It is often thought that the main levelers of inequality were natural disasters such as epidemics or earthquakes, and social turmoil such as wars and revolutions. Here we critically review evidence of the effects of such events on inequality from medieval times till the present. We show that in spite of the marked differences in character and direct impact of the shocks we consider, most historical disasters were rather followed by a widening of wealth gaps. This can be understood from the wealth distribution and institutional outlay of these societies at the moment of the shock, which to a large extent shaped both the impact and the institutional measures chosen in response to the crisis. As most societies were characterized by economic and political skewness, the result mostly was a further widening of disparities. Over the centuries, exceptions to this rule have occurred in situations where the ordinary people had strong leverage in shaping the response to the crisis through organizations such as guilds, fraternities, trade unions, cooperatives, and political movements. Our results provide empirical support for the view that in nations where such leverage of ordinary people is weak, the responses to novel crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic may boost inequality.

Cambridge University Press (available now in hard copy and open access), 2020

This monograph provides an overview of research into disasters from a historical perspective, mak... more This monograph provides an overview of research into disasters from a historical perspective, making two new contributions. First, it introduces the field of 'disaster studies' to history, showing how we can use history to better understand how societies deal with shocks and hazards and their potentially disastrous outcomes. Despite growing recognition of the importance of historical depth by scholars investigating disasters, the temporal dimensions of disasters have been underexploited up to now. Moreover, the historical record sometimes enables us to make a long-term reconstruction of the social, economic and cultural effects of hazards and shocks simply not possible in contemporary disaster studies material. We can therefore use 'the past' as a laboratory to test hypotheses of relevance to the present in a careful way. History lends itself towards this end because of the opportunity it offers to identify distinct and divergent social and environmental patterns and trajectories. We can compare the drivers and constraints of societal responses to shocks spatially and chronologically, and therefore enrich our understanding of responses to stress today.

Economic History Review, 2018

Wires Climate Change, 2019

Recent advances in paleoclimatology and the growing digital availability of large historical data... more Recent advances in paleoclimatology and the growing digital availability of large historical datasets on human activity have created new opportunities to investigate long-term interactions between climate and society. However, noncritical use of historical datasets can create pitfalls, resulting in misleading findings that may become entrenched as accepted knowledge. We demonstrate pitfalls in the content, use and interpretation of historical datasets in research into climate and society interaction through a systematic review of recent studies on the link between climate and (a) conflict incidence, (b) plague outbreaks and (c) agricultural productivity changes. We propose three sets of interventions to overcome these pitfalls, which involve a more critical and multidisciplinary collection and construction of historical datasets, increased specificity and transparency about uncertainty or biases, and replacing inductive with deductive approaches to causality. This will improve the validity and robustness of interpretations on the long-term relationship between climate and society. This article is categorized under: Climate, History, Society, Culture > Disciplinary Perspectives K E Y W O R D S climate and society, conflict, historical datasets, long-term, plague 1 | NEW OPPORTUNITIES Concerns over the implications of global climate change have given new impetus to the need to understand the effects of climatic changes on society over the long term (Adamson, Hannaford, & Rohland, 2018; Haldon, Elton, et al., 2018). Recent advances in paleoclimatology and historical climate reconstruction have resulted in increased numbers of highly-resolved series of long-term climatic changes (Emile-Geay et al., 2017). Similarly, the digital age has enhanced our capacity to produce bigger datasets on historical variations in human activity than ever before. These new opportunities have led to an increasing use of historical data to untangle climate-society linkages.

Back to the future: How economic history can gain more relevance by abandoning modernization thinking, 2024

Journal of Economic Surveys, 2024

Journal of Institutional Economics, 2021

Human Development Report, 2019

Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, 2014

Socio-Economic Review, 2019

Economic History Review, 2018

Continuity and …, Jan 1, 2009

theme issue Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient 57.2 (2014)., 2014

Working Papers

Journal of Interdisciplinary History, Jan 1, 2011

Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, 2014

This paper reconstructs the organization and development of factor markets in early medieval Iraq... more This paper reconstructs the organization and development of factor markets in early medieval Iraq. It shows that from the late Sasanian period on, and accelerating in the early Islamic period, there was a relatively unrestricted functioning of markets for goods, labour, and capital. This stimulated market exchange, associated with growing monetization of the economy, especially in the towns, but also in the countryside, even though coercion remained more pronounced there. We hypothesize that these
developments brought economic dynamism but simultaneously increased inequality and furthered the rise of new, powerful elite groups, causing the decline of the same markets.

Humanities and social sciences communications 8, 76 (2021), 2021

Cambridge University Press (available now in hard copy and open access), 2020

Economic History Review, 2018

Wires Climate Change, 2019

Ecology and Society, 2018

To adequately respond to crises, adaptive governance is crucial, but sometimes institutional adap... more To adequately respond to crises, adaptive governance is crucial, but sometimes institutional adaptation is constrained, even when a society is faced with acute hazards. We hypothesize that economic inequality, defined as unequal ownership of wealth and access to resources, crucially interacts with the way institutions function and are adapted or not. Because the time span for societal responses may be lengthy, we use the historical record as a laboratory to test our hypothesis. In doing so, we focus on floods and water management infrastructure. The test area is one where flood hazards were very evident—the Low Countries (present-day Netherlands and Belgium) in the premodern period (1300–1800)—and we employ comparative analysis of three regions within this geographical area. We draw two conclusions: first, both equitable and inequitable societies can demonstrate resilience in the face of floods, but only if the institutions employed to deal with the hazard are suited to the distributive context. Institutions must change parallel to any changes in inequality. Second, we show that institutional adaptation was not inevitable, but also sometimes failed to occur. Institutional adaptation was never inevitably triggered by stimulus of a hazard, but dependent on socio-political context. Even when vital for the community under threat, adaptation only tended to occur when the vested interests of those with wealth, resources, and power were directly hit.

This papers argues that the understanding of causes and effects of hazards and shocks could be fu... more This papers argues that the understanding of causes and effects of hazards and shocks could be furthered by making more explicit and systematic use of the historical record, that is, by using ‘the past’ as a laboratory to test hypotheses in a careful way. History lends itself towards this end because of the opportunity it offers to identify distinct and divergent social structures existing very close to one another on a regional level and the possibility this creates of making comparisons between societal responses to shocks spatially and chronologically. Furthermore, the basic richness of the historical record itself enables us to make a long-term reconstruction of the social, economic and cultural impact of hazards and shocks simply not possible in contemporary disaster studies material.

Since the turn of the Millennium, major changes in economic history practice such as the dominanc... more Since the turn of the Millennium, major changes in economic history practice such as the dominance of econometrics and the championing of ‘big data’, as well as changes in how research is funded, have created new pressures for medieval economic historians to confront. In this article, it is suggested that one way of strengthening the field further is to more explicitly link up with hypotheses posed in other social sciences. The historical record is one ‘laboratory’ in which hypotheses developed by sociologists, economists, and even natural scientists can be explicitly tested, especially using dual forms of geographical and chronological comparison. As one example to demonstrate this, a case is made for the stimulating effect of ‘Disaster Studies’. Historians have failed to interact with ideas from disaster studies, because of the general drift away from the social sciences by the historical discipline, but also because of a twin conception that medieval disaster study bears no relation to the modern, and that medieval coping strategies were hindered by providence, superstition, fear, and panic. We use the medieval disasters context to demonstrate that medieval economic history can contribute to big narratives of our time, including climate change and inequality. This contribution can be in (a) investigating the root causes of vulnerability and resilience, and recovery of societies over the long term (moving disaster studies away from instant impact focus) and (b) providing the social context needed to interpret the massive amount of ‘big data’ produced by historical climatologists, bioarchaeologists, economists, and so on.

Poor relief in the pre‐industrial period is a much‐investigated topic, but we still lack an idea ... more Poor relief in the pre‐industrial period is a much‐investigated topic, but we still lack an idea of its quantitative importance and development, especially in a comparative perspective. This article estimates the magnitude of the various kinds of formalized relief for three present‐day countries (Italy, England, and the Netherlands) in the very long run (1400–1850). The results show that in this period a substantial share of GDP, up to 3 per cent, could be spent on formal relief, offering subsistence to up to 8–9 per cent of the population, with a gradual rise over time and the highest figures being reached in the Netherlands in the eighteenth century. The three cases show a steep decline around 1800, a pattern found more generally in Europe. Next, these results are placed in a broader geographical perspective. This highlights the sharp differences within countries—which could be even larger than those between countries—and the high levels reached in the regions bordering the southern shores of the North Sea. In the last section, the results are used to discuss the possible causes underlying these long‐run patterns and geographical differences, including urbanization, wealth, religion, and social‐organizational features.

This paper forms the introduction to the book "Rural societies and environments at risk. Ecology,... more This paper forms the introduction to the book "Rural societies and environments at risk. Ecology, property rights and social organisation in fragile areas, Middle Ages-twentieth century". It first offers a succinct survey of the environmental risks and the margins of agrarian production in the past and next it focuses on these margins in fragile environments. Rural land use in these environments was endangered either because of too much water as a result of river floods or storm surges of the sea, or because of too little water. In other cases, their mountainous location or poor soils created a kind of inherent vulnerability. Because of the difficult circumstances, these areas allow for a test at the extreme margin, where the relationship between mankind and ecology is most fragile. As argued in this introduction, a major element in better understanding the ways in which rural societies have dealt with the fragility of their environments, and their different degrees of success, is the investigation of the property rights to the land and their exact formulation. Next, it discusses how the formulation of these property rights, and their effects, in their turn, can only be explained when placed in their social context and investigated in the long run. We argue that this should be a main research agenda for the field in the coming years.

Societies in past and present are regularly confronted with major hazards, which sometimes have d... more Societies in past and present are regularly confronted with major hazards, which sometimes have disastrous effects. Some societies are successful in preventing these effects and buffering threats, or they recover quickly, while others prove highly vulnerable. Why is this? Increasingly it is clear that disasters are not merely natural events, and also that wealth and technology alone are not adequate to prevent them. Rather, hazards and disasters are social occurrences as well, and they form a tough test for the organizational capacities of a society, both in mitigation and recovery. This project targets a main element of this capacity, namely: the way societies have organized the exchange, allocation and use of resources. It aims to explain why some societies do well in preventing or remedying disasters through these institutional arrangements and others not. In order to do so, this project analyses four key variables: the mix of coordination systems available within that society, its degree of autarky, economic equity and political equality. The recent literature on historical and presentday disasters suggests these factors as possible causes of success or failure of institutional arrangements in their confrontation with hazards, but their discussion remains largely descriptive and they have never been systematically analyzed. This research project offers such a systematic investigation, using rural societies in Western Europe in the period 13001800 with their variety of socioeconomic characteristics as a testing ground. The historical perspective enables us to compare widely differing cases, also over the long run, and to test for the variables chosen, in order to isolate the determining factors in the resilience of different societies. By using the opportunities offered by history in this way, we will increase our insight into the relative performance of societies and gain a better understanding of a critical determinant of human wellbeing.

This book discusses the relationship between ecology and rural society in fragile environments of... more This book discusses the relationship between ecology and rural society in fragile environments of the past. Rural land use in these areas entailed an inherent vulnerability, for instance because of their poor soils, aridity or their location in mountain areas, near the sea or in severe climatic conditions. The various chapters analyse how societies coped with this vulnerability by way of the organization of property rights to land. These rights formed the framework which shaped the use of the land and were a main constituent of the relationship between mankind and ecology in these fragile areas. To a large extent, therefore, they determined – and still determine - the success or failure of rural societies to cope with the challenges posed by their environment. In their turn, however, these property rights were shaped within a wider social and political context, in which political and ideological considerations, and special interests, also played their part. As a result, the organization of these rights was not always geared towards sustainability, as demonstrated in these chapters, which discuss and analyse long-term developments in several parts of Northwestern, Central and Southern Europe.

ESB, 2021

Economische groei werd lang gezien als de belangrijkste graadmeter van succes. Maar neemt dan met... more Economische groei werd lang gezien als de belangrijkste graadmeter van succes. Maar neemt dan met economische groei ook de welvaart toe? Met gebruikmaking van historische datasets reconstrueren we de welvaart in Nederland vanaf 1820.

ESB, 2022

‘Brede welvaart’ en ‘beyond GDP’ zijn de afgelopen jaren ‘doorgebroken’ als onderwerpen van polit... more ‘Brede welvaart’ en ‘beyond GDP’ zijn de afgelopen jaren ‘doorgebroken’ als onderwerpen van politiek debat en academisch onderzoek. Dit wordt breed erkend als een positieve en noodzakelijke ontwikkeling. Maar in de economische theorievorming ontbreekt het vaak aan fundering. De capaciteitenbenadering biedt een betere basis dan de klassieke welvaartstheorie voor het meten van welvaart en de integratie in beleid.

Het is een sprookje dat onze markteconomie een onmisbare voorwaarde voor welvaart en rechtsstaat ... more Het is een sprookje dat onze markteconomie een onmisbare voorwaarde voor welvaart en rechtsstaat is. De Nederlandse economisch historicus Bas van Bavel toetst de abstracte beweringen van de economen genadeloos aan de historische werkelijkheid. De vrije markt, die aanvankelijk breed werd omarmd, blijkt na enige tijd de welvaartsgroei juist te remmen: nieuwe economische elites veroveren met hun rijkdom politieke en juridische macht en sluiten nieuwkomers buiten. De ongelijkheid neemt toe, investeringen nemen af. Zo ging het tijdens de bloeitijd van de Arabische cultuur in Irak, in de Italiaanse steden ten tijde van de Renaissance, en ook in de Gouden Eeuw van Antwerpen en Amsterdam. En in onze tijd zal het niet anders zijn. Door ons vast te ketenen aan het Angelsaksische marktmodel hebben we onze eigen mogelijkheden om een neergaande cyclus te stuiten ernstig beknot.

Winter 2008, pp. 54-63, 2008

... Bergh-Hoogterp, LE van den, Goud-en zilversmeden te Utrecht in de late middeleeuwen (&amp... more ... Bergh-Hoogterp, LE van den, Goud-en zilversmeden te Utrecht in de late middeleeuwen (&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#x27;s-Gravenhage/Maarssen, 1990). Bernet Kempers, AJ, Oliemolens (Arnhem, 1962). Biddick, K., The other economy. Pastoral husbandry on a medieval estate (Berkeley/London, 1989). ...

101 (4743), Nov 17, 2016

Er wordt wel gedacht dat de verdeling van inkomen over kapitaal en arbeid een soort natuurlijk ni... more Er wordt wel gedacht dat de verdeling van inkomen over kapitaal en arbeid een soort natuurlijk niveau kent en zich om dit evenwicht heen beweegt. Dit blijkt onjuist: op lange termijn zijn er grote, structurele verschuivingen. Het aandeel van arbeid steeg in Nederland vanaf een laag niveau rond 1900 tot een hoog niveau in de jaren zeventig, om vervolgens te dalen, tot nu aan toe. Deze daling van het arbeidsaandeel past in een langetermijnpatroon en kan moeilijk worden omgekeerd.

99 (nr 4688), 2014

De vermogensongelijkheid is in Nederland relatief groot en verdient gezien haar structurele karak... more De vermogensongelijkheid is in Nederland relatief groot en verdient gezien haar structurele karakter hernieuwde aandacht. Het vermogensdebat zou echter scherper gevoerd kunnen worden als de lacunes in onze kennis over de vermogensverdeling gevuld zouden worden.

原创王晓真中国社会科学网, 2021

近年来，学界不断反思将国内生产总值作为单一指标来评估发展状况的做法。日前，经合组织发布了《生活如何？第二卷：1820年以来幸福感与全球不平等新视角》报告，分析了1820年以来世界多国的幸福感情况... more 近年来，学界不断反思将国内生产总值作为单一指标来评估发展状况的做法。日前，经合组织发布了《生活如何？第二卷：1820年以来幸福感与全球不平等新视角》报告，分析了1820年以来世界多国的幸福感情况变化。报告显示，当一个国家的经济发展和财富积累达到一定水平时，国内生产总值便不再是评估其发展水平的最佳方法，全面了解人们的幸福指数愈发重要。

Social Sciences in China Press, 2021

美国《自然》杂志3月刊发了荷兰乌特勒支大学历史与艺术史系教授巴斯·凡·巴维尔（Bas van Bavel）和荷兰瓦赫宁根大学环境科学系教授马腾·舍费尔（Marten Scheffer）合著的... more 美国《自然》杂志3月刊发了荷兰乌特勒支大学历史与艺术史系教授巴斯·凡·巴维尔（Bas van Bavel）和荷兰瓦赫宁根大学环境科学系教授马腾·舍费尔（Marten Scheffer）合著的论文《冲击对不平等的历史影响：再谈“大调平器”》。两位学者认为，从古至今，大多数危机都会深化而非缓解不平等。结合当前的社会环境来看，新冠肺炎疫情未必能够摆脱这个模式。

in: The Political Economy of the Dutch Republic, 2013

The organization of society formed a crucial element in the remarkable development of the country... more The organization of society formed a crucial element in the remarkable development of the countryside in the North Sea area in the last 1500 years. Vital questions are: Who owned the land? Who gained the profits from its exploitation? How was the use of rural resources controlled and changed? These questions have no simple answers, because the land has been subjected to competing claims, varying from region to region. In early times peasants mostly possessed and worked their holdings, but lords took much of the produce, and had the ultimate control over the land. In more recent times the occupiers and cultivators gained stronger rights over their farms. Neither lords nor peasants were free agents because communities governed the use of common lands. In the highly urbanized North Sea region towns and townspeople had much and increasing influence over the countryside. Change came from within society, for example from the tension and negotiation between lords and peasants, and the growing importance of the state and its policies. The volume also looks at the interaction between society and external changes, such as the rise and fall of the market, trends in population, and European integration.

dare.uva.nl

Long-term series on land productivity in the Netherlands are rare. This paper aims to compile suc... more Long-term series on land productivity in the Netherlands are rare. This paper aims to compile such long-term series for the central part of the Dutch river area and to place them in a wider context. The paper focuses on the late medieval and early modern period, during which time the rural economy went trough some radical changes, that also affected land productivity.

dare.uva.nl

This paper provides an inventory of the published statistics from the Netherlands that offer more... more This paper provides an inventory of the published statistics from the Netherlands that offer more or less reliable figures on yields per hectare of sown land in the period before the mid-19th century. Each of these statistics is preceded by a brief commentory on the sources and the methods used by the author, as well as a commentary on the metrological aspects. In addition to this, each statistic is accompanied by an indication of the soil type of that region and the name of the agro-region from the late 19th century Agricultural Reports, which meant to facilitate a comparison between the figures from the late 19th and 20th century on the one hand and the figures from earlier periods on the other.

This book deals with land productivity. Agriculture took the largest share of GNP before the mid-... more This book deals with land productivity. Agriculture took the largest share of GNP before the mid-nineteenth century and so economic growth must focus on agricultural transformations and measurements of agricultural productivity and its determinants. The 1963 study by B.H. Slicher van Bath on yield ratios across Europe was epoch-making. But more recent studies point to the necessity of placing and analysing land productivity more clearly within agricultural, ecological and socio-economic contexts. This publication reflects the new developments and findings in this field, for the North Sea area from the Middle Ages to the twentieth century. The book consists of three sections: the first contains national longterm overviews for each of the North Sea countries; the second part presents several case studies which examine the relationship between land productivity and agro-systems; and the last part consists of general comparative studies.

Peasants into farmers, Jan 1, 2001

In the twelfth to sixteenth centuries, the exploitation of landownership underwent drastic change... more In the twelfth to sixteenth centuries, the exploitation of landownership underwent drastic changes in various parts of Northwestern Europe. In these changes, the emergence of the lease plays a pivotal role. At the end of the Middle Ages, in a number of areas within the North Sea area, the greater part of available land was held at lease for relatively short terms. The competitive and contractual nature of such leasing has caused many to associate it with the emergence of capitalism in the countryside, seeing its rise as a key element in the transformation of the rural economy and society in the last millennium. In view of this, it is surprising that the emergence of leasing has received little systematic attention, particularly where its roots, its early development, its exact arrangements and the social and economic context of its emergence are concerned, let alone the regional and chronological differences in these elements. This volume aims to make a first step in exploring these issues.

For a better understanding of medieval and early modern rural society, in which land was the prin... more For a better understanding of medieval and early modern rural society, in which land was the principal source of income and investment, as well as a most prestigious object of possession and a solid base of power, historical questions on landholding and land transfers are highly relevant. This volume aims to clarify some long-standing issues concerning the large variety of land tenure and non-familial transfers of land in the North Sea area by treating them from a regional - if possible comparative - perspective and by linking them to such structural features of preindustrial rural society as shifts in land to labour ratio's; social property relations; commercialisation and the rise of land, leasehold, and credit markets; the growth of state intervention and the institutional innovation that followed in its wake; the sustained prevalence of local or regional customary law; and the effects of social and cultural values on the demand for land. From viewing the later medieval and early modern period as a whole, one has to conclude that the mobility of agricultural land markedly increased. This was due first and foremost to the establishment of clear-cut private property rights, to the expansion of land and credit markets, and to the spread of short-term leasing. Differences in the pace of capitalist development as well as of state formation were mainly responsible for outspoken regional differences.

Continuity and Change, 2008

published in: , in: B.J.P. van Bavel & P.R. Schofield (eds.), The Development of Leasehold in northwestern Europe, c. 1200-1600. CORN Publication Series 10 (Brepols, Turnhout, 2008) pp. 179-213., 2008

Past & Present, Jan 1, 2007

The land market in the North Sea area in a comparative perspective, 13th-18th centuries. In Cavachiocci, S. (Eds.), Il mercato della terra secc. XIII-XVIII. Atti delle "Settimane di Studi" e altri convegni (pp. 119/183-145/188). Prato., 2003

Past and Present, Jan 1, 2001

Continuity and Change, Jan 1, 2006

The rise of wage labour in the countryside forms a fundamental element in the transition to a mod... more The rise of wage labour in the countryside forms a fundamental element in the transition to a modern, capitalist economy and society. Hard data on this development, however, are scarce. Here, the importance of wage labour around the middle of the sixteenth century is reconstructed for three regions in the Low Countries. This reconstruction shows not only a high importance of wage labour, between a quarter to almost 60 per cent of rural labour input, but also strong regional differences. These differences appear not to be connected to urbanization or to the rise of one or another sector in the rural economy, but to the regional social and institutional framework in which the economy developed.

Although the importance of New Institutional Economics and the institutional approach for underst... more Although the importance of New Institutional Economics and the institutional approach for understanding pre-industrial economic development and the early growth of markets are widely accepted, it has proven to be difficult to assess more directly the effects of institutions on the functioning of markets. This paper uses empirical research on the rise of markets in late medieval Holland to illuminate some of the factors behind the development of the specific institutional framework of markets for land, labour, capital and goods, and some effects of these institutions on the actual functioning of the markets. The findings are corroborated by a tentative comparison with the functioning of markets in Flanders and eastern England.

Brepols Publishers, 2010

Bas van Bavel opens up the four big rural revolts in the Low Countries in the century or more bef... more Bas van Bavel opens up the four big rural revolts in the Low Countries in the century or more before the Black Death, which occurred in very different circumstances to later revolts, at a time of rising population. Here was a relatively free peasantry, in a world of weak manorialism, and with strong traditions of free and communal associations enhanced by a growing market; it ran into conflict with lords backed by the church, and support from a distance around. The conflicts were more regional in character, in contrast to the situation in the larger 14th-century revolts in England and France. (review by Dr John Hare)

in Past & Present, Jan 1, 2009

This paper explores why early modern Holland, and particularly its women, had an international re... more This paper explores why early modern Holland, and particularly its women, had an international reputation for cleanliness. Between 1500 and 1800 numerous travellers reported on the habit of housewives and maids to meticulously clean the interior and exterior of houses. We argue that it was the commercialization of dairy farming that led to improvements in household hygiene. In the fourteenth century peasants but also urban dwellers began to produce large quantities of butter and cheese for the market. In their small production units the wives and daughters worked to secure a clean environment for proper curdling and churning. We estimate that at the turn of the sixteenth century half of all rural households and up to one third of urban households in Holland produced butter and cheese. These numbers declined in the sixteenth century when peasants sold their land and larger farms were set up. Initially the migration of entire peasant families to towns, the hiring of farmers’ daughters as housemaids, and the exceptionally high consumption of dairy continued to feed into the habit of regular cleaning in urban households. However, by the mid-seventeenth century the direct link between dairy farming and cleanliness was probably lost.

Continuity and Change, Jan 1, 2002

Population developments in the western European countryside not only show strong fluctuations dur... more Population developments in the western European countryside not only show strong fluctuations during the later Middle Ages, but they also exhibit sharp regional differences. By investigating and comparing developments in three parts of the Low Countries this study tries to shed more light on the causes underlying these regional diversities. In this connection, particular attention will be paid to differences in the social distribution of landownership. Examination of the data at regional level
indicates that property structures were indeed an important factor in late-medieval population trends. Later sections of the article investigate the various factors which shaped the interrelationships between population growth, density and property structures, thus contributing to a clearer comprehension of the different demographic histories of the three regions and a better understanding of regional diversities in latemedieval population developments in general.

Economic History Review, Jan 1, 2004

Revue belge de philologie et d'histoire, Jan 1, 2003

Next to the local craftsmen and the non-agrarian activities that families undertook for their own... more Next to the local craftsmen and the non-agrarian activities that families undertook for their own use or local consumption, which had always existed in the countryside, in some places rural industries aimed at non-local markets developed as early as in the late 14th century. In some parts of the Low Countries, these early stages of rural industry gained a considerable importance during the late medieval period. In most regions in Western-Europe, however, there was hardly or no industrialization in the countryside at all during this period. In this respect, therefore, there were striking regional differences, sometimes even between regions situated close to each other.

This article focuses on these regional differences, by investigating and
comparing late medieval developments in two different parts of the Low
Countries where rural industries did blossom in the late medieval period, but
each with their own specific pattern: Inland Flanders and Holland. In order to explain these regional differences, the article links the proto-industrial development to the social and economic structures in the regions in question.

The Low Countries - an area roughly embracing the present-day Netherlands and Belgium - formed a ... more The Low Countries - an area roughly embracing the present-day Netherlands and Belgium - formed a patchwork of varied economic and social development in the Middle Ages, with some regions displaying a remarkable dynamism. Manors and Markets charts the history of these vibrant economies and societies, and contrasts them with alternative paths of development, from the early medieval period to the beginning of the seventeenth century.

Providing a concise overview of social and economic changes over more than a thousand years, Bas van Bavel assesses the impact of the social and institutional organization that saw the Low Countries become the most urbanized and densely populated part of Europe by the end of the Middle Ages. By delving into the early and high medieval history of society, van Bavel uncovers the foundations of the flourishing of the medieval Flemish towns and the forces that propelled Holland towards its Golden Age.

Exploring the Low Countries at a regional level, van Bavel highlights the importance of localized structures for determining the nature of social transitions and economic growth. He assesses the role of manorial organization, the emergence of markets, the rise of towns, the quest for self-determination by ordinary people, and the sharp regional differences in development that can be observed in the very long run. In doing so, the book offers a significant contribution to the debate about the causes of economic and social change, both past and present.

See the attachment for a synoposis of the book and a debate about the book (special issue of the Low Countries Journal of Social and Economic History)

The protracted emergence of hierarchical government is most clearly epitomized in the shift from ... more The protracted emergence of hierarchical government is most clearly epitomized in the shift from tribal societies to chiefdoms, the two ideal-typical forms of societal organization at either side of the emergence of hierarchy. To explain this shift, we present a model of individual production and violence between ex ante homogeneous players, and endogenous private monitoring. We show that coalition formation is essential for hierarchies to emerge and that power within coalitions depends on monopolizing information rather than violence capacities. Also, we highlight the limits of hierarchical chiefdoms competing against tribes and thus help explain why the shift was that protracted.

A main instrument for better understanding the formation of institutions, and explaining the dif... more A main instrument for better understanding the formation of
institutions, and explaining the differences in their long-run development between periods and societies, would be to use history as a laboratory, allowing us to test the hypotheses developed in the social sciences. This paper discusses the study by Douglas Allen, The Institutional Revolution, in that context, in order to identify some of the pitfalls in the current attempts by economists to use historical analysis. Next, the paper places his English case into a comparative perspective, helped by the recent insights gained by economic and social history, to see how these pitfalls can be avoided. Based on this, I argue for comparisons at the regional, national and global levels, and for a multidimensional view which includes social contextualization, combined with an open eye for discontinuity in long-run patterns, in order to avoid one-dimensional and teleological approaches to institutional change.

in press, accepted manuscript, Oct 21, 2016

Violence is key to understanding human interaction and societal development. The natural state of... more Violence is key to understanding human interaction and societal development. The natural state of societal organization is that a subset of the population, capable of mustering organized large-scale violence, forms an elite coalition that restrains both violence and coercive appropriation. We highlight key mechanisms underlying such natural states. Our results show that natural states either have a large elite coalition and a high tax rate, or a weak elite and a high level of appropriation by a large group of violence specialists outside the elite, termed warlords. When output elasticity of effort is high, it induces elite members to limit their tax rate, which in turn promotes warlordism. Only when the elite coalition is small but still able to control a sizeable share of production, as a result of its cooperative quality and a low decisiveness of conflict between elite and warlords, do we find comparatively high levels of production and producer welfare. Our results imply that almost all natural states experience continuous coercion exercised by elite members and violence between elite coalitions and warlords. We show that this is not a temporary out-of-equilibrium-situation but a permanent phenomenon, as can most conspicuously be observed in parts of Sub-Saharan Africa. Our model thus illustrates the rigidity of natural states.

In 'Violence and Social Orders', North, Wallis and Weingast highlight the need of societies to co... more In 'Violence and Social Orders', North, Wallis and Weingast highlight the need of societies to control large-scale violence. In response to this need, a variety of social orders has emerged with differing institutional, political and economic characteristics. One of these social orders is the limited access order that was prevalent in most of history and still is nowadays. Taking the conceptual framework of North et al. as a starting point, we make three advances to their analysis of limited access orders. First, we analyse the incentive structure of actors involved, using a formal model of the main interactions in a limited access order. Second, we decompose organizations into two types and analyse their respective roles. Third, we use insights from historical research to scrutinize the chronology of the rise of organizations. Jointly, this allows us to refine and substantiate the insights gained by North et al., highlight the role of organizations and place the start of relevant developments earlier in time.

Economic History Review, 2022

This article, by surveying the literature, looks at the impact of associational organizations on ... more This article, by surveying the literature, looks at the impact of associational organizations on patterns of wealth inequality in pre-industrial western Europe. It shows how they developed less regressive forms of taxation and redistribution, embedded the transfer and use of land and capital in coordination systems that curtailed accumulation, and sometimes even imposed maximums of wealth ownership, and it tentatively argues that their role had a downward effect on wealth inequality, even despite the exclusive character of these organizations. Tweet This article tentatively argues that associational organizations, by organizing taxation, curtailing accumulation, and imposing maximums on ownership, had a downward effect on wealth inequalities in pre-industrial western Europe, even despite their exclusive character.

PNAS, 2021

Reliable data on economic inequality are largely limited to North America and Western Europe. As ... more Reliable data on economic inequality are largely limited to North America and Western Europe. As a result, we know the least about areas where inequality presents the most serious developmental policy challenge. We demonstrate that spatial variation in night-light emitted per person can reflect the distribution of income. This allows us to map global patterns and trends in economic inequality using remote sensing.

Economic inequality in pre-industrial societies: causes and effects, 2020

This paper scrutinizes the insights won by recent studies in wealth inequality in pre-industrial ... more This paper scrutinizes the insights won by recent studies in wealth inequality in pre-industrial Europe. It focuses on the regions and periods where levels of inequality were relatively low, trying to arrive at an inventory of causes of these exceptions. It discusses catastrophic events, colonization and revolution as possible causes, but argues that these only occasionally had a leveling effect, depending on the social and institutional context in which they occurred. Most clearly wealth accumulation was restricted, even by maximums on ownership, where associative organizations held a solid position, and market and state played lesser roles as coordination systems.

PNAS early edition, Nov 28, 2017

Most societies are economically dominated by a small elite, and similarly, natural communities ar... more Most societies are economically dominated by a small elite, and similarly, natural communities are typically dominated by a small fraction of the species. Here we reveal a strong similarity between patterns of inequality in nature and society, hinting at fundamental unifying mechanisms. We show that chance alone will drive 1% or less of the community to dominate 50% of all resources in situations where gains and losses are multiplicative, as in returns on assets or growth rates of populations. Key mechanisms that counteract such hyperdominance include natural enemies in nature and wealth-equalizing institutions in society. However, historical research of European developments over the past millennium suggests that such institutions become ineffective in times of societal upscaling. A corollary is that in a globalizing world, wealth will inevitably be appropriated by a very small fraction of the population unless effective wealth-equalizing institutions emerge at the global level.

14.2, 2017

This paper reviews the available evidence on post-war trends in Dutch private wealth inequality u... more This paper reviews the available evidence on post-war trends in Dutch private wealth inequality using a range of scattered sources. Wealth tax records suggest a substantial decline in inequality to the 1970s and, more tentatively, a gradual rise thereafter. In the post-1990 years, Gini-coefficients of private wealth inequality range from 0.8 to 0.9, which is at the high end of the international comparison.
Such high levels of private wealth inequality contrast with relatively
low levels of net income inequality; a paradox that the Netherlands share with other Northern European welfare states. We hypothesise that publicly funded life-time income security limits the wealth-formation by ordinary Dutch households, while the redistributive taxes required to finance this system are targeting income rather than wealth.

International Journal of Mass Emergencies & Disasters

This paper argues that the understanding of causes and effects of hazards and shocks could be fur... more This paper argues that the understanding of causes and effects of hazards and shocks could be furthered by making more explicit and systematic use of the historical record, that is, by using ‘the past’ as a laboratory to test hypotheses in a careful way. History lends itself towards this end because of the opportunity it offers to identify distinct and divergent social structures existing very close to one another on a regional level and the possibility this creates of making comparisons between societal responses to shocks spatially and chronologically. Furthermore, the basic richness of the historical record itself enables us to make a long-term reconstruction of the social, economic and cultural impact of hazards and shocks simply not possible in contemporary disaster studies material.

This paper reviews the available evidence on post-war trends in Dutch private wealth inequality u... more This paper reviews the available evidence on post-war trends in Dutch private wealth inequality using a range of scattered sources. Wealth tax records suggest a substantial decline in inequality to the 1970s and, more tentatively, a gradual rise thereafter. In the post-1990 years, Gini-coefficients of private wealth inequality range from 0.8 to 0.9, which is at the high end of the international comparison. Such high levels of private wealth inequality contrast with relatively low levels of net income inequality; a paradox that the Netherlands share with other Northern European welfare states. We hypothesise that publicly funded life-time income security limits the wealth-formation by ordinary Dutch households, while the redistributive taxes required to finance this system are targeting income rather than wealth.

Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 2021

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2021

Significance Reliable data on economic inequality are largely limited to North America and Wester... more Significance Reliable data on economic inequality are largely limited to North America and Western Europe. As a result, we know the least about areas where inequality presents the most serious developmental policy challenge. We demonstrate that spatial variation in night-light emitted per person can reflect the distribution of income. This allows us to map global patterns and trends in economic inequality using remote sensing.

WIREs Climate Change, 2019

Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, 2014

Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 2016

Journal of Institutional Economics, 2016

In ‘Violence and Social Orders’, North, Wallis and Weingast highlight the need of societies to co... more In ‘Violence and Social Orders’, North, Wallis and Weingast highlight the need of societies to control large-scale violence. In response to this need, a variety of social orders has emerged with differing institutional, political and economic characteristics. One of these social orders is the limited access order that was prevalent in most of history and still is nowadays. Taking the conceptual framework of North et al. as a starting point, we make three advances to their analysis of limited access orders. First, we analyse the incentive structure of actors involved, using a formal model of the main interactions in a limited access order. Second, we decompose organizations into two types and analyse their respective roles. Third, we use insights from historical research to scrutinize the chronology of the rise of organizations. Jointly, this allows us to refine and substantiate the insights gained by North et al., highlight the role of organizations and place the start of relevant d...

Ecology and Society, 2018

The Economic History Review, 2022

Tijdschrift voor Sociale en Economische Geschiedenis/ The Low Countries Journal of Social and Economic History, 2017

The Economic History Review