The Controversy over European Inflation in 1500–1700: Precious Metals or Population? The English Evidence

Anthony Edo () and Jacques Melitz
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Anthony Edo: CEPII

Open Economies Review, 2024, vol. 35, issue 3, No 8, 659-685

Abstract: Abstract Economists and some economic historians dismiss the populationist hypothesis about responsibility of population growth for the European “Price Revolution”. They attribute the inflation instead to inflow of silver following discovery of the Americas. Based on English evidence in 1500–1700, we show that this dismissal of the populationist position flies in the face of the evidence. Further, whatever the weaknesses of past defenses of the populationist stand, it can be easily framed on a sound economic basis. We also examine critically the monetarist explanation of the Price Revolution. Both theses are jointly important and compatible.

Keywords: The “Price Revolution”; Demography; Precious metals; European economic history 1500–1700 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: E31 F00 J10 N13 N33 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1007/s11079-023-09743-4

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