ID - 365627 TI - Institutions and European trade : merchant guilds, 1000-1800 AU - Ogilvie, Sheilagh AU - Cambridge University Press PY - 2011 VL - *12 SN - 9780521747929 9780521764179 9780511974410 PB - Cambridge New York Melbourne Cambridge university press DB - UniCat KW - History of Europe KW - anno 1200-1799 KW - anno 1100-1199 KW - anno 1000-1099 KW - Merchants KW - BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Economic History KW - History. KW - Europe KW - Commerce KW - BUSINESS & ECONOMICS KW - Economic History KW - 339 <09> <4> KW - Handelsgeschiedenis--Europa KW - Economic History. KW - Business & economics KW - Economic history. KW - History KW - GILDES MEDIEVALES KW - Corporations KW - Commerçants KW - Histoire KW - 1300-1800 KW - Associations KW - Commerçants UR - https://www.unicat.be/uniCat?func=search&query=sysid:365627 AB - What was the role of merchant guilds in the medieval and early modern economy? Does their wide prevalence and long survival mean they were efficient institutions that benefited the whole economy? Or did they simply offer an effective way for the rich and powerful to increase their wealth, at the expense of outsiders, customers and society as a whole? These privileged associations of businessmen were key institutions in the European economy from 1000 to 1800. Historians debate merchant guilds' role in the Commercial Revolution, economists use them to support theories about institutions and development, and policy-makers view them as prime examples of social capital, with important lessons for modern economies. Sheilagh Ogilvie's magisterial new history of commercial institutions shows how the answers to such questions can help us understand which types of institution made trade grow, why institutions exist, and how corporate privileges affect economic efficiency and human well-being. ER -