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The rise and decline of European parliaments, 1188–1789†
Article first published online: 29 JUL 2011
DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-0289.2011.00612.x
© Economic History Society 2011
Additional Information
How to Cite
VAN ZANDEN, J. L., BURINGH, E. and BOSKER, M. (2012), The rise and decline of European parliaments, 1188–1789. The Economic History Review, 65: 835–861. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-0289.2011.00612.x
Publication History
- Issue published online: 2 JUL 2012
- Article first published online: 29 JUL 2011
- Date submitted 16 November 2009; Revised version submitted 31 January 2011; Accepted 04 February 2011
This article quantifies the activities of medieval and early modern parliaments. It traces the long-term evolution of this European institution, and offers a first pass at analysing its impact on long-term economic development. Starting in Spain in the twelfth century, parliaments gradually spread over the Latin west between 1200 and 1500. In the early modern period, parliaments declined in influence in southern and central Europe and further gained in importance in the Netherlands and Britain, resulting in an institutional ‘Little Divergence’ between 1500 and 1800. We discuss the background of this phenomenon in detail. Moreover, by analysing the effects of parliamentary activity on city growth we find that these differences in institutional development help to explain the economic divergence between north-western and southern and central Europe.