Western Europe. An important factor, recognized in the literature, is that China centralized state institutions very early on …, while Europe remained politically fragmented for much longer. These initial differences, however, were amplified by the … different social organizations (clans in China, corporate structures in Europe) that spread in these two societies at the turn …

and decay of clusters of creativity? We match data on notable individuals born in Europe between the XIth and the XIXth …

centuries. The political and social history of Europe provides a rich source of variation in these two variables at a regional …