New media and competition: printing and Europe's transformation after Gutenberg

Dittmar, Jeremiah ORCID: 0000-0002-3930-4496 and Seabold, Skipper (2019) New media and competition: printing and Europe's transformation after Gutenberg. CEP Discussion Papers (CEPDP1600). London School of Economics and Political Science. Centre for Economic Performance, London, UK.

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Abstract

We study the role of book content in economic, religious, and institutional development after the introduction of printing, and the role of competition in determining the amount and content of local printing. We focus on (1) business education content and (2) religious ideas during the Protestant Reformation. We construct data on printing output and competition in European cities 1454-1600.We document positive relationships between business education content and city growth, and Protestant content and institutional change. We find competition predicts content. We confirm the relationships between competition, content, and outcomes using printer deaths as a source of exogenous variation.

Item Type:	Monograph (Discussion Paper)
Official URL:	https://cep.lse.ac.uk/_new/publications/discussion...
Additional Information:	© 2019 The Author(s)
Divisions:	Economics
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions
JEL classification:	L - Industrial Organization > L1 - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance L - Industrial Organization > L2 - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior N - Economic History > N0 - General N - Economic History > N3 - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Income, and Wealth N - Economic History > N8 - Micro-Business History O - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth > O3 - Technological Change; Research and Development O - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth > O4 - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity
Date Deposited:	25 Nov 2019 12:21
Last Modified:	09 May 2025 01:46
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/102614

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