Trade and the end of antiquity

Boehm, Johannes and Chaney, Thomas (2024) Trade and the end of antiquity. CEP Discussion Papers (CEPDP2030). London School of Economics and Political Science. Centre for Economic Performance, London, UK.

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Abstract

What caused the end of antiquity, the shift of economic activity away from the Mediterranean towards northern Europe? We assemble a large database of coin flows between the 4th and 10th century and use it to document the shifting patterns of exchange during this time period. We build a dynamic model of trade and money where coins gradually diffuse along trade routes. We estimate the parameters of this model and recover time-varying bi-lateral trade flows and real consumption from data on the spatial and temporal distribution of coins. Our estimates suggest that technical progress, increased minting, and to a lesser degree the fall in trade flows over the newly formed border between Islam and Christianity contributed to the relative growth of Muslim Spain and the Frankish lands of northern Europe and the decline of the Roman-Byzantine world. Our estimates are consistent with the increased urbanization of western and northern Europe relative to the eastern Mediterranean from the 8th to the 10th century.

Item Type:	Monograph (Discussion Paper)
Official URL:	https://cep.lse.ac.uk/_new/publications/discussion...
Additional Information:	© 2024 The Author(s)
Divisions:	Centre for Economic Performance
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions
JEL classification:	F - International Economics > F1 - Trade O - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth > O1 - Economic Development N - Economic History > N7 - Transport, International and Domestic Trade, Energy, Technology, and Other Services > N73 - Europe: Pre-1913
Date Deposited:	13 Feb 2025 15:54
Last Modified:	13 Feb 2025 15:54
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/126785

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