Reply to Tracy Dennison and Sheilagh Ogilvie: The European Marriage pattern and the Little Divergence

By Anonymous (not verified), 26 August, 2019
70.00
Carmichael, S., de Pleijt, A., van Zanden, J.L. and De Moor, T.

This reply reviews the evidence presented by Dennison and Ogilvie that theEuropean Marriage Pattern did not contribute to economic growth in Early Modern Europe(EMP). First, we argue that the link between the EMP and economic growth is notconceptualized correctly. Age of marriage is not a correct index of the degree to whichcountries were characterized by EMP. Secondly, we show that our alternative interpretation ofthe EMP, focusing on the underlying institutions and the related balance of power betweenmen and women, solves this problem. We find a strong correlation between economic growthand female agency.