Year: 2008
Type: report
Abstract: When the mortality rate is high, repeated interaction alone may not sustain cooperation, and religion may play an important role in shaping economic institutions.This insight explains why during the fourteenth century, when plagues decimated populations and the church promoted the doctrine of purgatory, guilds that bundled together religious and occupational activities dominated manufacturing and commerce.During the sixteenth century, the disease environment eased, and the Reformation dispelled the doctrine of purgatory, necessitating the development of new methods of organizing industry.The logic underlying this conclusion has implications for the study of institutions, economics, and religion throughout history and in the developing world today.
DOI: 10.3386/w14004
Authors: Gary Richardson, Michael McBride
Language: English
Subfield: Demography
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funder: George Mason University
OpenAlex ID: W2117474541