 Academic Human Capital in European Countries and Regions, 1200–1793Matthew Curtis, David De La Croix, Filippo Manfredini and Mara Vitale No 21158, CEPR Discussion Papers from Centre for Economic Policy Research 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 across Catholic and Protestant areas of the Holy Roman Empire, and the distinctiveness of the Scottish Enlightenment. Keywords: Little; divergence (search for similar items in EconPapers) Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:21158 Ordering information: This working paper can be ordered from Access Statistics for this paper More papers in CEPR Discussion Papers from Centre for Economic Policy Research 33 Great Sutton Street, London EC1V 0DX, UK. |
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