Pre-Reformation Roots of the Protestant Ethic

TY - UNPB

T1 - Pre-Reformation Roots of the Protestant Ethic

AU - Andersen, Thomas Barnebeck

AU - Bentzen, Jeanet Sinding

AU - Dalgaard, Carl-Johan Lars

AU - Sharp, Paul Richard

N1 - JEL Classification codes: N13; O11; Z12

PY - 2013

Y1 - 2013

N2 - We hypothesize that cultural appreciation of hard work and thrift, the Protestant ethic according to Max Weber, had a pre-Reformation origin. The proximate source of these values was, according to the proposed theory, the Catholic Order of Cistercians. In support, we first document an impact from the Order on growth within the epicenter of the industrial revolution; English counties that were more exposed to Cistercian monasteries experienced faster productivity growth from the 13th century onwards. Consistent with a cultural influence, this impact is also found after the monasteries were dissolved in the 1530s. Second, we find that the values emphasized by Weber are relatively more pervasive in European regions where Cistercian monasteries were located historically, and that the legacy of the Cistercians can be detected in present-day employment rates across European sub-regions.

AB - We hypothesize that cultural appreciation of hard work and thrift, the Protestant ethic according to Max Weber, had a pre-Reformation origin. The proximate source of these values was, according to the proposed theory, the Catholic Order of Cistercians. In support, we first document an impact from the Order on growth within the epicenter of the industrial revolution; English counties that were more exposed to Cistercian monasteries experienced faster productivity growth from the 13th century onwards. Consistent with a cultural influence, this impact is also found after the monasteries were dissolved in the 1530s. Second, we find that the values emphasized by Weber are relatively more pervasive in European regions where Cistercian monasteries were located historically, and that the legacy of the Cistercians can be detected in present-day employment rates across European sub-regions.

KW - Faculty of Social Sciences

KW - Cultural values

KW - Protestant ethic

KW - Economic development

M3 - Working paper

T3 - CAGE Working papers

BT - Pre-Reformation Roots of the Protestant Ethic

PB - University of Warwick Working Paper Series

CY - Coventry

ER -