The European Guilds: An Economic Analysis

Description

A comprehensive analysis of European craft guilds through eight centuries of economic history Guilds ruled many crafts and trades from the Middle Ages to the Industrial Revolution, and have always attracted debate and controversy. They were sometimes viewed as efficient institutions that guaranteed quality and skills. But they also excluded comp

Sheilagh Ogilvie is professor of economic history at the University of Cambridge and a fellow of the British Academy. Her books include Institutions and European Trade and A Bitter Living.

"A Choice Outstanding Academic Title of the Year" "Winner of the Gyorgy Ranki Prize, Economic History Association" "Essential reading for economic historians."---Anne McCants, Journal of Economic History "[A] compendious history. . . . The geographic breadth and temporal length of [Ogilvie's] coverage make The European Guilds unique."---Marc Levinson, Wall Street Journal "The new and highly comprehensive book by Sheilagh Ogilvie . . . . likely to stand as one of the more important works of economic history from the last decade."---Tyler Cowen, Marginal Revolution "A major contribution to economic history and institutional economics."---Mark Koyama, The Review of Austrian Economics "A comprehensive study of European guilds."---Steven A. Epstein, H-France Review "Ogilvie has re-galvanised the debate on guilds."---Richard Goddard, Medieval Archaeology "A learned and comprehensive study of an institution that stood at the heart of the European non-agricultural economy for over seven centuries."---Jan de Vries, EH.net "Ogilvie's wide-ranging and scrutinous analysis of craft guilds is an essential and stimulating read for all scholars interested in guilds and institutions."---Arie van Steensel, Low Countries Journal of Social and Economic History