Tradition Meets Innovation: Monasteries and the Adoption of Printing Technology

Guillaume Wegmueller and Nathan Sussman

No 20552, CEPR Discussion Papers from Centre for Economic Policy Research

Abstract: The invention of the printing press in the mid-15th century transformed the dissemination of information across Europe. Which factors contributed to the rapid adoption of this revolutionary technology? We argue that demand-side factors—in particular, the presence of monasteries played a central role in driving adoption. To test this hypothesis, we compile a novel dataset of cities, printing presses, and monasteries within the Holy Roman Empire. We find that monasteries had a significant effect on printing technology adoption. Specifically, the predicted hazard rate of adoption more than doubles between cities with low and high monastic presence.

Date: 2025-08
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