A Review Essay on the European Guilds

Review of Austrian Economics, Forthcoming

GMU Working Paper in Economics No. 19-27

14 Pages Posted: 18 Jul 2019 Last revised: 25 Aug 2019

See all articles by Mark Koyama

Mark Koyama

George Mason University - Department of Economics; George Mason University - Mercatus Center

Date Written: July 17, 2019

Abstract

Ogilvie’s The European Guilds is a major contribution to economic history and institutional economics. This review essay surveys the main contributions of Guilds, locating it in a long-standing debate over whether craft guilds contributed positively or negatively to economic development in medieval and early modern Europe. The wealth of evidence Ogilvie amasses suggests that craft guilds should be thought of as organizations that primarily benefited their members at the expense of non-members, and used regulations to extract rents and exclude outsiders.

Keywords: Guilds, Institutions, Rent-Seeking

JEL Classification: N0, N43, D72, Y3

Suggested Citation

Koyama, Mark, A Review Essay on the European Guilds (July 17, 2019). Review of Austrian Economics, Forthcoming, GMU Working Paper in Economics No. 19-27, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3421711

Mark Koyama (Contact Author)

George Mason University - Department of Economics ( email )

4400 University Drive
Fairfax, VA 22030
United States

HOME PAGE: http://mason.gmu.edu/~mkoyama2/About.html

George Mason University - Mercatus Center ( email )

3434 Washington Blvd., 4th Floor
Arlington, VA 22201
United States

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