Includes bibliographical references and index.

Preliminary Materials / J.L. Van Zanden -- Introduction The Long Road To The Industrial Revolution / J.L. Van Zanden -- Chapter One. Introducing The Problem: The Emergence Of Efficient Institutions In The Middle Ages / J.L. Van Zanden -- Chapter Two. Why The European Economy Expanded Rapidly In A Period Of Political Fragmentation / J.L. Van Zanden -- Chapter Three. Book Production As A Mirror Of The Emerging Medieval Knowledge Economy, 500-1500 / Eltjo Buringh -- Introducing The Problem The Little Divergence Within Europe, 1400-1800 / J.L. Van Zanden -- Chapter Four. Girlpower. The European Marriage Pattern (Emp) And Labour Markets In The North Sea Region In The Late Medieval Period / Tine De Moor -- Introducing The Problem The Birth Of The European Knowledge Economy / J.L. Van Zanden -- Chapter Five. The Human Capital Of Common Workmen European Skill Premium In A Global Perspective / J.L. Van Zanden -- Chapter Six. The Philosophers And The Revolution Of The Printing Press / J.L. Van Zanden -- Chapter Seven. State Formation And Citizenship: The Dutch Republic Between Medieval Communes And Modern Nation States / Maarten Prak -- Chapter Eight. The Emergence Of Modern Economic Growth In The North Sea Region / J.L. Van Zanden -- Chapter Nine. The Arab World, China, And Japan / J.L. Van Zanden -- Conclusion ‘A Million Mutinies’ / J.L. Van Zanden -- Appendix One. Further Experiments With The Cobb Douglas Production Function: Italy And Western Europe / J.L. Van Zanden -- Appendix Two. Estimating Chinese Gdp Per Capita In Thee Ighteenth Century / J.L. Van Zanden -- References / J.L. Van Zanden -- Index Of Subjects / J.L. Van Zanden.

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Why did the Industrial Revolution happen in Western Europe? Was it a sudden acceleration of the European economy, or should we look at specific institutions arising in Western Europe since the Middle Ages? This book puts these big questions of European economic history in a global perspective, deals with the institutions that developed in Europe, and measures their relative efficiency over time and compared with other parts of Eurasia. It traces the growth of human capital in the centuries between 1000 and 1800, in comparison with China, Japan and India. It also demonstrates how important the European Marriage Pattern was for understanding Europe’s past. The result is a new synthesis of the origins of the Industrial Revolution.