| The economy of the Dutch Republic is a principal case study inthe international debate on economic growth and development in theperiod 1500 - 1800. The Dutch pioneered in several aspects ofeconomic modernisation including high urbanisation, an advancedindustry, efficient financial markets, a worldwide trade network anda well-educated population. Economists and economic historians alikehave argued convincingly that the performance of economies past andpresent is closely related to the development of institutions for theprotection and transfer of property rights. This has led to renewedinternational interest in the Dutch Republic, which qualifies notonly as an economic miracle, but as an institutional innovator aswell. Indeed, Dutch history reveals a host of new solutions for theprotection of economic interests, the governance of long-distancetrade, the organization of labour markets, and public and privatefinance. The aim of the programme is to relate recent innovative work in thefield of institutional economic history of the Dutch Republic toresearch on similar topics in other parts of Europe. To do so, theprincipal focus of the program will be on three early moderneconomies: - that of Antwerp and the surrounding area in Brabant and Flanders,which preceded the Dutch Republic as a source of institutionalinnovation. After the closing of the Scheldt (1585) many Antwerpmerchants moved to Amsterdam and other Dutch towns. They importedsome of the relevant innovations in trade and industry.- that of England, which after 1690 succeeded the Dutch Republic asEurope?s leading economy. Though a major innovator itself, Englandalso benefited from the emulation of political, financial, andeconomic institutions pioneered in the Low Countries.- that of the South Scandinavian semi-periphery. This area (Denmark,South Sweden, South- Norway) was geographically and culturally closeto these leaders in economic development, but remained a lessdeveloped area. Each of these areas was in close contact with theleading economies through trade and labour migration. Merchants fromthe Southern and Northern Netherlands and from England moved toCopenhagen and Stockholm. The Danish and Swedish kings tried tofoster the transmission of innovative economic practices. We will focus on three kinds of institutions:- the labour market and especially the role of women on it. There isevidence that the economic success of the Dutch Republic is reflectedin the position of women on the labour market. The suggestion thatthe economic role of Dutch women differed from women in otherEuropean countries seems rational, but a comparison has never beenmade. In the coming years, the research project ?Women?s work in theearly modern Northern Netherlands, c.1500-1815? will provide a moreprecise understanding of the role of working women in early modernDutch society. The proposed international program will build on theresults of this project, and compare female labour participationpatterns and property relations, in the Dutch Republic with those inother parts of North-West Europe. This will increase ourunderstanding of the relation between gender and economic developmentin the early modern period.- institutions governing international trade. In early modern Europemedieval institutions like fairs, merchant guilds, and staples weregradually replaced by permanent exchange between merchants enjoyinglegal personality. The Dutch Republic was one of the first economiesthat achieved this cost-saving transformation. Better coordination ofprotection, enforcement of contracts and reduction of commercialrisks gave Dutch merchants a distinct competitive advantage. Theintroduction of Dutch commercial and financial institutions in otherEuropean countries in later years suggests this was a vitalcontribution to early modern economic growth.- policy makers on the town, regional and national level had to reactto these innovations. They could either close their borders as muchas possible for the aggressive business activities of the Dutch, tryto gear their economies to the Dutch economy, or with a combinationof protective measures and imitation of Dutch practices compete withthe Dutch. As this was a period in which state formation wasdeveloping, these policies had to be developed not only at the |
