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How Merchant Towns Shaped Parliaments: From the Norman Conquest of England to the Great Reform Act

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  • Charles Angelucci
  • Simone Meraglia
  • Nico Voigtländer

Abstract

We study the emergence of urban self-governance in the late medieval period. We focus on England after the Norman Conquest of 1066, building a novel comprehensive dataset of 554 medieval towns. During the Commercial Revolution (twelfth to thirteenth centuries), many merchant towns obtained Farm Grants: the right of self-governed tax collection and law enforcement. Self-governance, in turn, was a stepping stone for parliamentary representation: Farm Grant towns were much more likely to be summoned directly to the medieval English Parliament than otherwise similar towns. We also show that self-governed towns strengthened the role of Parliament and shaped national institutions over the subsequent centuries.

Suggested Citation

  • Charles Angelucci & Simone Meraglia & Nico Voigtländer, 2022. "How Merchant Towns Shaped Parliaments: From the Norman Conquest of England to the Great Reform Act," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 112(10), pages 3441-3487, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:aecrev:v:112:y:2022:i:10:p:3441-87
    DOI: 10.1257/aer.20200885
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. R. H. Britnell, 1978. "English Markets and Royal Administration before 1200," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 31(2), pages 183-196, May.
    2. Chilosi, David & Volckart, Oliver, 2011. "Money, States, and Empire: Financial Integration and Institutional Change in Central Europe, 1400–1520," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 71(3), pages 762-791, September.
    3. Toke S. Aidt & Raphaël Franck, 2015. "Democratization Under the Threat of Revolution: Evidence From the Great Reform Act of 1832," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 83, pages 505-547, March.
    4. Conley, T. G., 1999. "GMM estimation with cross sectional dependence," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 92(1), pages 1-45, September.
    5. J. N. Bartlett, 1959. "The Expansion And Decline Of York In The Later Middle Ages," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 12(1), pages 17-33, August.
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    Cited by:

    1. Ernesto Dal Bó & Karolina Hutková & Lukas Leucht & Noam Yuchtman, 2022. "Dissecting the Sinews of Power: International Trade and the Rise of Britain’s Fiscal-Military State, 1689-1823," NBER Working Papers 30754, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Joel Mokyr & Guido Tabellini, 2024. "Social organizations and political institutions: why China and Europe diverged," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 91(362), pages 347-382, April.
    3. Alberto Bisin & Jared Rubin & Avner Seror & Thierry Verdier, 2024. "Culture, institutions and the long divergence," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 29(1), pages 1-40, March.
    4. Dal Bo, Ernesto & Hutkova, Karolina & Leucht, Lukas & Yuchtman, Noam Meir, 2023. "Dissecting the sinews of power: international trade and the rise of Britain's fiscal-military state, 1689-1823," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 121310, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    5. Nancy Qian & Marco Tabellini, 2021. "Racial Discrimination and the Social Contract: Evidence from U.S. Army Enlistment during WWII," NBER Working Papers 29482, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Elisa Borghi & Donato Masciandaro, 2023. "Political Elites, Urban Institutions And Long-Run Persistence : The King Owned Towns," BAFFI CAREFIN Working Papers 23193, BAFFI CAREFIN, Centre for Applied Research on International Markets Banking Finance and Regulation, Universita' Bocconi, Milano, Italy.
    7. Campbell, Douglas & Brodeur, Abel & Dreber, Anna & Johannesson, Magnus & Kopecky, Joseph & Lusher, Lester & Tsoy, Nikita, 2024. "The Robustness Reproducibility of the American Economic Review," I4R Discussion Paper Series 124, The Institute for Replication (I4R).

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D02 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Institutions: Design, Formation, Operations, and Impact
    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • D73 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Bureaucracy; Administrative Processes in Public Organizations; Corruption
    • K11 - Law and Economics - - Basic Areas of Law - - - Property Law
    • K34 - Law and Economics - - Other Substantive Areas of Law - - - Tax Law
    • N43 - Economic History - - Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation - - - Europe: Pre-1913
    • N93 - Economic History - - Regional and Urban History - - - Europe: Pre-1913

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