Suchergebnisse

This paper proposes a conceptual framework in which the cultural environment is shaped by historical factors and, in turn, affects entrepreneurship and innovation in the long-term. To support this idea, we have described the scientific revolution that took place in Europe at the end of the Renaissance period, when social and religious tolerance, the power of the church and the attitude of elite groups towards scientific discovery spawned different cultural environments across European regions. In addition, using historical data at NUTS-3 geographical level in Europe, we estimated an econometric model to explore the long-term impact of regional knowledge base and creativity, two important aspects of the cultural environment, on actual economic drivers. The estimates suggest that the presence of universities in the past, our measure for historical knowledge base, and the number of scientists and inventors in the past, our measure for historical creativity, have a positive effect on current levels of regional entrepreneurship and innovation. The effects of creativity depend on the scientific field of the scientists and inventors. Il presente lavoro propone un quadro concettuale in cui l'ambiente culturale è modellato da fattori storici e, a sua volta, influisce sull'imprenditorialità e sull'innovazione a lungo termine. Per supportare questa tesi, abbiamo descritto la rivoluzione scientifica che ha avuto luogo in Europa alla fine del Rinascimento, quando la tolleranza sociale e religiosa, il potere della chiesa e l'atteggiamento delle élite verso le scoperte scientifiche hanno creato diversi ambienti culturali tra le regioni europee. Inoltre, utilizzando dati storici con un livello geografico NUTS-3 in Europa, abbiamo stimato un modello econometrico per esplorare l'impatto di lungo periodo della base di conoscenze e della creatività regionale, due aspetti rilevanti dell'ambiente culturale, su aspetti economici contemporanei. Le stime suggeriscono che la presenza di università nel passato, la nostra misura per la base di conoscenza storica, e il numero di scienziati e inventori nel passato, la nostra misura per la creatività storica, hanno un effetto positivo sull'imprenditorialità e sull'innovazione delle regioni. Inoltre, gli effetti della creatività dipendono dall'area scientifica di appartenenza degli scienziati e degli inventori.

Asceticism, so it is argued in this volume, is a modern category. The ubiquitous cult of the body, of fitness and diet equally evoke the ongoing success of ascetic practices and beliefs. Nostalgic memories of hardship and discipline in the army, youth movements or boarding schools remain as present as the fashionable irritation with the presumed modern-day laziness. In the very texture of contemporary culture, age-old asceticism proves to be remarkably alive. Old ascetic forms were remoulded to serve modern desires for personal authenticity, an authenticity that disconnected asceticism in the

The aim of this book is to explain economic dualism in the history of modern Europe. The emergence of the manorial-serf economy in the Bohemia, Poland, and Hungary in the 16th and the 17th centuries was the result of a cumulative impact of various circumstantial factors. The weakness of cities in Central Europe disturbed the social balance – so characteristic for Western-European societies – between burghers and the nobility. The political dominance of the nobility hampered the development of cities and limited the influence of burghers, paving the way to the rise of serfdom and manorial farms. These processes were accompanied by increased demand for agricultural products in Western Europe

This hugely successful history of political and economic integration in Western Europe since the Second World War -- and especially, but by no means exclusively, the European Community itself -- was first published in 1991, to general acclaim. Since then much turbulent water has flowed under the bridges of Maastricht and Strasbourg. Now, in this welcome Second Edition, Derek Urwin has brought the story fully up to date, with an account of developments since 1991 and an assessment of the mood and prospects of Europe and the Community today

"By exploring the uniquely dense urban network of the Low Countries, Janna Coomans debunks the myth of medieval cities as apathetic towards filth and disease. Based on new archival research and adopting a biopolitical and spatial-material approach, Coomans traces how cities developed a broad range of practices to protect themselves and fight disease. Urban societies negotiated challenges to their collective health in the face of social, political and environmental change, transforming ideas on civic duties and the common good. Tasks were divided among different groups, including town governments, neighbours and guilds, and affected a wide range of areas, from water, fire and food to pigs, prostitutes and plague. By studying these efforts in the round, Coomans offers new comparative insights and bolsters our understanding of the importance of population health and the physical world - infrastructures, flora and fauna - in governing medieval cities"--

This book looks at various aspects of electoral history in Europe and Latin America, from the late 17th century to 1930, including electoral culture and traditions, electoral participation, electoral fraud, the role of elections in the process of nation-building, and the role of important institutions, such as the Church, in shaping political values and therefore electoral behaviour. There are chapters devoted to the individual experiences of England, Mexico, Ecuador, Ireland, Germany, Colombia, Argentina, Chile and Spain