Reply to Tracy Dennison and Sheilagh Ogilvie: The European Marriage pattern and the Little Divergence

Sarah Carmichael, Alexandra de Pleijt (), Jan Luiten van Zanden and Tine De Moor

No 70, Working Papers from Utrecht University, Centre for Global Economic History

Abstract: This reply reviews the evidence presented by Dennison and Ogilvie that the European Marriage Pattern did not contribute to economic growth in Early Modern Europe (EMP). First, we argue that the link between the EMP and economic growth is not conceptualized correctly. Age of marriage is not a correct index of the degree to which countries were characterized by EMP. Secondly, we show that our alternative interpretation of the EMP, focusing on the underlying institutions and the related balance of power between men and women, solves this problem. We find a strong correlation between economic growth and female agency.

Keywords: Marriage patterns; Economic growth; Institutions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 20 pages
Date: 2015-11
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-gro and nep-his
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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