The Rise of Europe: Atlantic Trade, Institutional Change, and Economic Growth

DOI Web Site 3 Citations
  • Daron Acemoglu
    Department of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, E52-371, Cambridge, MA 02142.
  • Simon Johnson
    Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 50 Memorial Drive, Cambridge, MA 02139.
  • James Robinson
    Department of Government, Harvard University, 1875 Cambridge Street, Cambridge, MA 02138.

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<jats:p>The rise of Western Europe after 1500 is due largely to growth in countries with access to the Atlantic Ocean and with substantial trade with the New World, Africa, and Asia via the Atlantic. This trade and the associated colonialism affected Europe not only directly, but also indirectly by inducing institutional change. Where “initial” political institutions (those established before 1500) placed significant checks on the monarchy, the growth of Atlantic trade strengthened merchant groups by constraining the power of the monarchy, and helped merchants obtain changes in institutions to protect property rights. These changes were central to subsequent economic growth.</jats:p>

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