The Geography of Knowledge in Europe: 1000-1800

Chiara Zanardello ()
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Chiara Zanardello: TSE-R - Toulouse School of Economics - UT Capitole - Université Toulouse Capitole - Comue de Toulouse - Communauté d'universités et établissements de Toulouse - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, IAST - Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse

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Abstract: Between 1000 and 1800, the set of European scholars' birthplaces expanded geographically, even as their distribution became more concentrated among the leading birthplaces. At the same time, scholars' workplaces remained much more concentrated in a smaller number of cities, which is consistent with substantial lifetime mobility into academic institutions. Unlike the distribution of scholars' origins, the urban rank-size distribution remained relatively stable. I also show a strong correlation between the number of academic institutions and a higher concentration of the scholars' birthplace distribution, while no comparable relationship appears for urban population.

Keywords: scholars' birthplaces; human capital; rank-size distribution; academic institutions; urban population (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-10-28
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