Innovation and the Medieval Ch urch
Abstract:
Economists have long debated the in fluence of religion on innovation. Combining historical and modern data\, w e test the hypothesis that the medieval Catholic Church fostered creativity by linking regions across Latin Christendom and weakening kin-based instit utions\, thereby enabling the exchange and recombination of ideas. We use t he founding of Latin bishoprics (500–1500 CE) as a proxy for the Church’s e xpansion and measure creativity via the production of notable creatives (au thors\, inventors\, artists) relative to non-creatives (clerics\, generals\ , nobles). Event-study and triple-difference analyses show that bishopric e stablishment led to a persistent rise in creative output lasting nearly a m illennium. Mechanism tests indicate that bishoprics increased regional conn ectivity\, reflected in the geographic mobility of notable individuals\, an d that creativity rose after bishops attended councils discussing marriage and family legislation\, but not after placebo councils. Extending to the m odern era\, regions with longer Church exposure exhibit higher innovation—p atents\, inventors\, and creatives per capita—and distinct patterns in fami ly structure\, social networks\, and psychological traits linked to trust\, non-conformity\, and fairness. Overall\, these findings support the idea t hat modern innovation thrives on the free flow of ideas among diverse minds \, shaped by deep historical shifts that continue to influence contemporary social organization.
Organized by: Nathan Nunn
LOCATION:IONA 533 GEO:49.260872;-123.113952 URL;VALUE=URI:https://economics.ubc.ca/events/event/viacheslav-savitskiy-ko rea-university-economic-history-seminar/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/Vancouver BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0700 TZOFFSETTO:-0800 DTSTART:20251102T090000 TZNAME:PST END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE END:VCALENDAR