Capital Women

How women increasingly became economic agents in early modern Europe is the focus of this stimulating book, which highlights how female agency was crucial for understanding the development of the Western European economy and sheds light on economic development today.Jan Luiten van Zanden, Tine De Moor and Sarah Carmichael argue that over centuries a "European Marriage Pattern" developed, characterized by high numbers of singles among men and women, high marriage ages among men and women, and neolocality, where the couple forms a new nuclear household and did not co-reside with the parents of either bride or groom. This was due to the influence of the Catholic Church's teachings of marriage based on consensus, the rise of labor markets, and institutionsconcerning property transfers between generations that enhanced wage labor by women. Over time an unprecedented demographic regime was created and embedded in a highly commercial environment in which households interacted frequently with labor, capital and commodity markets. This was one of the maincauses of the gradual move away from a Malthusian state towards an economy able to generate long-term economic growth.The authors explore how the pattern was influenced by and influenced female human capital formation, access to the capital market, and participation in the labor market. They use numerous measures of economic activity, including the unique "Girlpower-Index" that measures the average age at first marriage of women minus the spousal age gap, with higher absolute age at marriage and lower spousal age gap both indicating greater female agency and autonomy. The book also examines how this measure can increase understanding of contemporary dynamics of women and the economy. The authors thus shed light on the degree to which women are allowed to play an influential role in and on the economy and society, which varies greatly from one society to another.

Women matter! Capital Women is a strong and compelling book. It will be of the upmost interest for all those who wish to understand the ongoing debate about the historical role played by women in economic growth, progress, and development in Western Europe., Development economists have long argued that if free to act for themselves and their families, women can contribute to growth and development; indeed the need to empower women has become a staple of development policy. Capital Women will help economic historians get up to date in understanding how women's agency can be seen as crucial to the development of Western Europe. Jan Luiten van Zanden, Tine De Moor, and Sarah Carmichael use a wide range of measures of economic activity, including their original "Girlpower-Index", to measure female agency and autonomy and then link these to the dynamics of development. Capital Women brings "Girlpower" into the economic historians' mainstream., This book addresses from new angles the old debate on the origins, the characteristics and the consequences of the European Marriage Pattern. It makes a very substantial and timely contribution to our knowledge of preindustrial societies - and it will surely inspire research and solicit debate for years to come.

Jan Luiten van Zanden is professor of Global Economic History at Utrecht University. His research interests focus on the reconstruction and explanation of long-term trajectories in the world economy with the goal of understanding the deep roots of contemporary societal problems.Tine De Moor is professor of Institutions for Collective Action in historical perspective at Utrecht University. She is closely engaged with translating insights from the study of collectively managed institutions in the past to help organisations working in the present. Sarah Carmichael is an Assistant Professor in the economic and social history group of Utrecht University. Her research focuses on devising historical measures of gender inequality and exploring how family organization impacts upon the position of women.