"In Knowledge, Patents, Power, Marius Buning tells the complex story of how the emergence of a Dutch patent regime is related to wider issues concerning governmental control and innovation. Buning analyses the institutional framework in which "innovative knowledge" could develop in the Dutch...

On 9 January 1632, at the inauguration of the Amsterdam Illustrious School - the predecessor of the city's university - Caspar Barlaeus delivered a speech that has continued to arouse the curiosity of researchers and the general public alike: 'Mercator sapiens'. This famous oration on the wise...

"This collection takes a multi-perspective approach in the study of empire and commodities beyond temporal and spatial boundaries. From early modern Venetian trade to tea in the Eurasian world, the role of gold in Portuguese imperial ambitions and British sailors as traders, Across Colonial...

We estimate peer effects for fourth graders in six European countries. The identification relies on variation across classes within schools. We argue that classes within primary schools are formed roughly randomly with respect to family background. Similar to previous studies, we find sizeable...