This book investigates the performance of economic development under different forms of government, ranging from autocratic states to liberal democracies. Starting with a critical review of the literature on social and economic development, including the works of Frank Knight, Max Weber, Joseph...

This study uncovers the institutional framework of markets for 'renten', which allowed large segments of the public and private sectors in late medieval Holland to accumulate capital, and thus functioned as capital markets that enabled economic development.