(IRES/LIDAM, UCLouvain)
will give a presentation on
Abstract
Oxford and Cambridge were enduring institutions of pre-industrial England, shaping the nation’s economic and intellectual landscape. This paper uses newly assembled microdata on English university scholars to trace the evolution of the human capital market between 1300 and 1800. For the first time, the supply of a key production factor in the pre-industrial period is observable at the micro level. I develop a dynamic, microfounded theory of universities, where human capital transmission is influenced by peer effects. Expanding university enrollment reduces average peer quality, as marginal students have lower academic ability. This dampens growth unless offset by innovations (e.g. the printing press). The model is estimated to provide novel estimates of English total factor and academic productivity, alongside estimates of deep parameters driving human capital formation. These findings shed new light on the economic dynamics underpinning England’s growth path leading to the Industrial Revolution.