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In Good Company: About Agency and Economic Development in Global Perspective

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  • Jan Luiten van Zanden

Abstract

The paper discusses some evidence, based on a review of new literature on economic history, about what is coined the Sen-hypothesis, that increasing human agency (of both men and women) is a key factor in economic development. It briefly discusses various dimensions of agency (or its absence): slavery (as the absolute suppression of human agency), access to markets, agency concerning marriage, and political participation. This concept perhaps also allows economic historians to move beyond the historical determinism that is central to much recent work in this field.

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  • Jan Luiten van Zanden, 2012. "In Good Company: About Agency and Economic Development in Global Perspective," Economic History of Developing Regions, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(S1), pages 16-27.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:rehdxx:v:27:y:2012:i:s1:p:s16-s27
    DOI: 10.1080/20780389.2012.657456
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Edward Glaeser & Giacomo Ponzetto & Andrei Shleifer, 2007. "Why does democracy need education?," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 12(2), pages 77-99, June.
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    8. Coşgel, Metin, 2011. "The Long Divergence: How Islamic Law Held Back the Middle East. By Timur Kuran. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2010. Pp.xvi, 405. $29.95, hardcover," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 71(4), pages 1114-1116, December.
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    12. Van Zanden, Jan Luiten, 2004. "On the Efficiency of Markets for Agricultural Products: Rice Prices and Capital Markets in Java, 1823–1853," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 64(4), pages 1028-1055, December.
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    Citations

    Blog mentions

    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. On Agency
      by Johan Fourie in Johan Fourie's Blog on 2012-01-25 16:08:22
    2. Of Good and Better Companies: Reflections On Agency and Economic History
      by Manuel Bautista in NEP-HIS blog on 2012-03-26 09:12:06
    3. Of Good and Better Companies: Reflections On Agency and Economic History
      by Manuel Bautista in NEP-HIS blog on 2012-03-26 09:12:06
    4. Of Good and Better Companies: Reflections On Agency and Economic History
      by Manuel Bautista in NEP-HIS blog on 2012-03-26 09:12:06
    5. Agency condition e história econômica
      by Thomas H. Kang in Oikomania on 2012-03-28 17:45:00

    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Silvana Maubrigades, 2015. "Connections between women`s age at marriage and social and economic development," Documentos de trabajo 39, Programa de Historia Económica, FCS, Udelar.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • N00 - Economic History - - General - - - General
    • O10 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - General
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration

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