Entrepreneurs and Institutions in Europe and Asia, 1500-2000 (Paperback)

It is widely accepted opinion in the study of European economic history that since about 1500 the economic, political, and cultural center of the world moved from Asia in the East to Europe in the West. It is theorized that during this period the economic center of gravity in Europe shifted from the South to the North, moving Europe ahead of Asia and Northern Europe ahead of Southern Europe.

These theories have come under fire in recent years. The conclusion is that the differences in development between regions was smaller than previously assumed, and the similarities greater. One of the central questions nowadays has to do with the role entrepreneurs and institutions play in economic development: to what extent are differences and similarities in economic development explained by differences and similarities in entrepreneurial behavior and the character of the institutions? This collection makes a contribution to the debate on this question.

"Ferry de Goey" is a historian and works at the Centre for Business History at Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands. "Jan Willem Veluwenkamp" is historian and works at the University of Groningen, the Netherlands.