Academic Human Capital in European Countries and Regions, 1200-1793

Matthew Curtis, David de la Croix, Filippo Manfredini and Mara Vitale
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Matthew Curtis: University of Southern Denmark
David de la Croix: UNIVERSITE CATHOLIQUE DE LOUVAIN, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES)
Filippo Manfredini: UNIVERSITE CATHOLIQUE DE LOUVAIN, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES)
Mara Vitale: UNIVERSITE CATHOLIQUE DE LOUVAIN, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES)

No 2025012, LIDAM Discussion Papers IRES from Université catholique de Louvain, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES)

Abstract: We present new annual time-series data on academic human capital across Europe from 1200 to 1793, constructed by aggregating individual-level measures at three geographic scales: cities, present-day countries (as of 2025), and historically informed macro-regions. Individual human capital is derived from a composite index of publication outcomes, based on data from the Repertorium Eruditorum Totius Europae (RETE) database. The macro-regional classifications are designed to reflect historically coherent entities, offering a more relevant perspective than modern national boundaries. This framework allows us to document key patterns, including the Little Divergence in academic human capital between Northern and Southern Europe, the effect of the Black Death and the Thirty Years' War on academic human capital, the respective contributions of academies and universities, regional inequality within the Holy Roman Empire, and the distinctiveness of the Scottish Enlightenment.

Keywords: human capital; universities; academies; pre-industrial Europe; long-run growth; Little Divergence (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I23 N33 O47 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025-08-18
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-eur, nep-gro and nep-his
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ctl:louvir:2025012

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