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Women in European academia before 1800—religion, marriage, and human capital

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  • David de la Croix
  • Mara Vitale

Abstract

We document the participation of women in European academia from the first universities to the eve of the Industrial Revolution. A total of 108 women taught at universities or were members of academies of arts and sciences. Most of them were active in Catholic southern Europe—an unexpected result. We conjecture that Protestantism left less room for women at the top of the distribution of human capital to exercise their talent. The percentage of ever-married female scholars is 79%, but a large fraction of them remained childless. Comparing them with 58,995 male scholars, we find that they were on average better.JEL codes: N33, Z12, I23, J16-->

Suggested Citation

  • David de la Croix & Mara Vitale, 2023. "Women in European academia before 1800—religion, marriage, and human capital," European Review of Economic History, European Historical Economics Society, vol. 27(4), pages 506-532.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:ereveh:v:27:y:2023:i:4:p:506-532.
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    2. David de la Croix & Matthias Doepke & Joel Mokyr, 2018. "Clans, Guilds, and Markets: Apprenticeship Institutions and Growth in the Preindustrial Economy," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 133(1), pages 1-70.
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    7. David de la Croix & Frédéric Docquier & Alice Fabre & Robert Stelter, 2024. "The Academic Market and The Rise of Universities in Medieval and Early Modern Europe (1000–1800)," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 22(4), pages 1541-1589.
    8. David de la Croix & Eric B. Schneider & Jacob Weisdorf, 2019. "Childlessness, celibacy and net fertility in pre-industrial England: the middle-class evolutionary advantage," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 24(3), pages 223-256, September.
    9. Sascha Becker & Ludger Woessmann & Sascha O. Becker, 2008. "Luther and the Girls: Religious Denomination and the Female Education Gap in 19th Century Prussia," CESifo Working Paper Series 2414, CESifo.
    10. Avner Greif & Guido Tabellini, 2010. "Cultural and Institutional Bifurcation: China and Europe Compared," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 100(2), pages 135-140, May.
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    13. Kevin Lang & Jee-Yeon K. Lehmann, 2012. "Racial Discrimination in the Labor Market: Theory and Empirics," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 50(4), pages 959-1006, December.
    14. David de la Croix & Pauline Morault, 2020. "Winners and Losers from the Protestant Reformation: An Analysis of the Network of European Universities," LIDAM Discussion Papers IRES 2020029, Université catholique de Louvain, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES).
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    Cited by:

    1. David de la Croix & Frédéric Docquier & Alice Fabre & Robert Stelter, 2024. "The Academic Market and The Rise of Universities in Medieval and Early Modern Europe (1000–1800)," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 22(4), pages 1541-1589.
    2. Palma, Nuno & Reis, Jaime & Rodrigues, Lisbeth, 2023. "Historical gender discrimination does not explain comparative Western European development: evidence from Portugal, 1300-1900," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    3. David de la Croix & Marc Goñi, 2024. "Nepotism vs. intergenerational transmission of human capital in Academia (1088–1800)," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 29(4), pages 469-514, December.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • N33 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - Europe: Pre-1913
    • Z12 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Religion
    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination

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