The European Guilds: An Economic Analysis (The Princeton Economic History of the Western World Book 90)

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 competitors, manipulated markets, and blocked innovations. Did the benefits of guilds outweigh their costs? Analyzing thousands of guilds that dominated European economies from 1000 to 1880, The European Guilds uses vivid examples and clear economic reasoning to answer that question. Sheilagh Ogilvie's book features the voices of honorable guild masters, underpaid journeymen, exploited apprentices, shady officials, and outraged customers, and follows the stories of the "vile encroachers"--women, migrants, Jews, gypsies, bastards, and many others--desperate to work but hunted down by the guilds as illicit competitors. She investigates the benefits of guilds but also shines a light on their dark side. Guilds sometimes provided important services, but they also manipulated markets to profit their members. They regulated quality but prevented poor consumers from buying goods cheaply. They fostered work skills but denied apprenticeships to outsiders. They transmitted useful techniques but blocked innovations that posed a threat. Guilds existed widely not because they corrected market failures or served the common good but because they benefited two powerful groups--guild members and political elites. Exploring guilds' inner workings across eight centuries, The European Guilds shows how privileged institutions and exclusive networks shape the wider economy--for good or ill. CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES AND PLATES LIST OF TABLES ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The Debate about Guilds Why is this Important? A Brief History of Guilds The Debate so far Leveraging Social Capital Getting Data about Guilds The Structure of this Book Guilds and Governments Guild Wars Guild Legislation What did Guilds do for Governments? Cash Payments Sharing Guild Revenues Emergency Fiscal Assistance Regular Taxation of Guilds Assistance in Tax Collection Loans to Governments Regulatory Assistance Military Support Political Support Quantifying the Cost Conclusion Entry Barriers Exclusive Rights to Trade Barriers to Entry Numerus Clausus Group Affiliation Local Citizenship Freedom From Serfdom or Slavery Ethnicity and Language Religion Demographic Characteristics Age Marital Status Legitimacy Family Ties with Existing Masters Economic Characteristics as Entry Barriers Wealth, Propert, Income Occupational Demarcations Apprentice Admission Fees Mastership Fees Additional Mastership Charges Operating Licences Collective Acceptability “Dishonourable” Occupational Background Collective Acceptability and Reputation Did Guild Entry Barriers Matter? Contemporary Complaints People Changed Their Behaviour Willingness to Pay for Guild Membership Willingness to Incur Costs to Circumvent Guild Entry Barriers Guilds Pay Governments for Entry Barriers Guilds Invested in Lobbying, Litigation, and Conflict Systems of Detection and Punishment Was it just Culture? Macro Effects of Entry Barriers Conclusion Market Manipulation Manipulating Output Markets Guild Price-Fixing Guild Output Quotas Limits on Marketing Physical Limits on Workshops, Equipment, and Materials Limits on Workforce Size Manipulating Input Markets Guild Intervention to Depress Labour Costs Guild Manipulation to Depress the Cost of Shops and Raw Material Did this Matter? Contemporary Testimony about Guild’s Market Manipulation Political Conflict over Guild’s Market Manipulation Litigation over Guild’s Market Manipulation Other Forms of Conflict Collective Action of Workers Systems of Detection and Punishment Guild’s Effects on Prices and Supplies Was Guild Price-Fixing Beneficial? Conclusion Guilds and Women A Gender Typology of Guilds All-Female Guilds Mixed-Sex Guilds Guilds with Widow’s Rights Conditions on Widow’s Rights Limitations on What Widows Could Do Guilds That Excluded Females from Mastership Guilds Excluding All Female Participation Apprenticeship and Women Journeywomen Guilds and Masters’ Wives Guilds and Masters’ Daughters Guilds and Female Servants Guilds and Independent Females Did This Matter? Did the Guild System Provide Well for Women? What about Biology? Reproductive and Domestic Responsibilities Lack of Skill? Weakness Female Agency Alternative Training Institutions How Good an Alternative Is The Informal Sector Culture Rather Than Institution? Did Guilds Constraints on Women Matter for the Wider Economy? Quality Regulation How Much Attention Did Guilds Devote to Quality Certification How Effective Were Guilds in Carrying Out Quality Certifications Did Guilds Certify Quality by Fostering An Ethos of Honourable Behaviour? How Important was Collective Guild Contracting How Important were Guild Sales Rooms? Did Alternative Quality Certification Institutions Exist? Did Consumers Avoid Non-Guild-Certified Wares? Did Industries with Guild Quality Certification Out-Perform those Without? What Role Did Guilds Play With Regard to Product Quality? Quality Certification and Rent-Seeking Quality Certification and Industrial Agility Guild Quality Certification and the Informal Sector Unintended Effects of Guilds on Quality Conclusion Human Capital Investment Theories About Guilds and Apprenticeship How Much Skill Did Pre-Modern Crafts and Services Need? Low-Skilled Yet Guilded Length of Training—The Controversy No Standard Lenght Minimum Apprenticeship Terms—A Bond on Performance? Craft Practice by Females Who Were Denied Guild Training Did Apprenticeship Need Guilds? Did All Guilds Require Apprenticeship Enforcement: Principle or Privilege? Did Guilds Make Sure Masters Trained Their Apprentices? How Carefully Did Guilds Monitor Skills? Guild Training and Economic Development Intercontinental Comparisons of Skill Premium How the Same Industry Performed with Different Training Regimes The Social Distribution of Human Capital Investments Conclusion Innovation Were Guilds Good for Innovation? Monopoly Profits? Price Controls Apprenticeship and Generational Diffusion Journeymanship and Geographical Diffusion Guilds and Spatial Clustering Guilds Directly Opposed Innovation Guild Opposition to Innovations When Did Guilds Not Prevent Innovation? Masters’ Profits Internal Dissension Inter-Guild Conflict Merchant Lobbying Countervailing Privileges Guild-Free Enclaves Did Guild Opposition to Innovation Matter? Only Labour-Saving Innovations? Impractical? Harmful Innovations? Intellectual Property—Individual or Collective? Evasion? Indirect Effects of Guilds on Innovation Quality Regulations Training Regulations Limits on Workshop Size Barriers to Entry of New Capital Barriers against Non-Local Craftsmen Import Restrictions Barriers to Emigration Written Communication Inter-Guild Demarcations Demarcations between Crafts and Commerce Assessing the Alternatives Conclusion Guilds and Growth Strength in Numbers Craftsmen and Merchants Internal Cohesiveness Occupational Homogeneity Guild Assemblies Attendance at Guild Assemblies Guilds and Governments Political Representation Support from the Crown Enforcement by Public Officials and Legal System Political Permission to Exist Guilds and the Urban System Guild Representation in Town Government Enforcement of Guild Privileges by Town Officials Towns or Occupations without Guilds Inter-Urban Competition Town-Country Relations Rural Institutions Guilds that Included Rural Producers Guilds and Seigneurial Institutions Jurisdictional Enclaves European Variation Conclusion Did Guilds Inflict Economic Harm? Did Guilds Create Countervailing Benefits? Did Guilds Have Unintended Effects? Exclusive Rights to Practice Entry Barriers Manipulating Output Markets Manipulating Input Markets Wider Implications Why Did Guilds Exist—and Why Did They Finally Disappear? BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX ''A comprehensive analysis of European craft guilds through eight centuries of economic historyGuilds 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 competitors, manipulated markets, and blocked innovations. Did the benefits of guilds outweigh their costs? Analyzing thousands of guilds that dominated European economies from 1000 to 1880,The European Guilds uses vivid examples and clear economic reasoning to answer that question.Sheilagh Ogilvie's book features the voices of honourable guild masters, underpaid journeymen, exploited apprentices, shady officials, and outraged customers, and follows the stories of the "vile encroachers"-women, migrants, Jews, gypsies, bastards, and many others-desperate to work but hunted down by the guilds as illicit competitors. She investigates the benefits of guilds but also shines a light on their dark side. Guilds sometimes provided important services, but they also manipulated markets to profit their members. They regulated quality but prevented poor consumers from buying goods cheaply. They fostered work skills but denied apprenticeships to outsiders. They transmitted useful techniques but blocked innovations that posed a threat. Guilds existed widely not because they corrected market failures or served the common good but because they benefited two powerful groups-guild members and political elites.Exploring guilds' inner workings across eight centuries,The European Guilds shows how privileged institutions and exclusive networks shape the wider economy-for good or ill.''-- Site de l'éditeur 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 competitors, manipulated markets, and blocked innovations. Did the benefits of guilds outweigh their costs? Analyzing thousands of guilds that dominated European economies from 1000 to 1880, The European Guilds uses vivid examples and clear economic reasoning to answer that question. Sheilagh Ogilvie's book features the voices of honourable guild masters, underpaid journeymen, exploited apprentices, shady officials, and outraged customers, and follows the stories of the "vile encroachers"—women, migrants, Jews, gypsies, bastards, and many others—desperate to work but hunted down by the guilds as illicit competitors. She investigates the benefits of guilds but also shines a light on their dark side. Guilds sometimes provided important services, but they also manipulated markets to profit their members. They regulated quality but prevented poor consumers from buying goods cheaply. They fostered work skills but denied apprenticeships to outsiders. They transmitted useful techniques but blocked innovations that posed a threat. Guilds existed widely not because they corrected market failures or served the common good but because they benefited two powerful groups—guild members and political elites. Exploring guilds' inner workings across eight centuries, The European Guilds shows how privileged institutions and exclusive networks shape the wider economy—for good or ill. 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 competitors, manipulated markets, and blocked innovations. Did the benefits of guilds outweigh their costs? Analyzing thousands of guilds that dominated European economies from 1000 to 1880, this book uses vivid examples and clear economic reasoning to answer that question. The book features the voices of honourable guild masters, underpaid journeymen, exploited apprentices, shady officials, and outraged customers, and follows the stories of the “vile encroachers”—women, migrants, Jews, gypsies, bastards, and many others—desperate to work but hunted down by the guilds as illicit competitors. It investigates the benefits of guilds but also shines a light on their dark side. Guilds sometimes provided important services, but they also manipulated markets to profit their members. They regulated quality but prevented poor consumers from buying goods cheaply. They fostered work skills but denied apprenticeships to outsiders. They transmitted useful techniques but blocked innovations that posed a threat. Guilds existed widely not because they corrected market failures or served the common good, but because they benefited two powerful groups—guild members and political elites. The book shows how privileged institutions and exclusive networks shape the wider economy—for good or ill. "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 competitors, manipulated markets, and blocked innovations. Did the benefits of guilds outweigh their costs? Analyzing thousands of guilds that dominated European economies from 1000 to 1880, The European Guilds uses vivid examples and clear economic reasoning to answer that question. Sheilagh Ogilvie's book features the voices of honorable guild masters, underpaid journeymen, exploited apprentices, shady officials, and outraged customers, and follows the stories of the "vile encroachers"--Women, migrants, Jews, gypsies, bastards, and many others--desperate to work but hunted down by the guilds as illicit competitors. She investigates the benefits of guilds but also shines a light on their dark side. Guilds sometimes provided important services, but they also manipulated markets to profit their members. They regulated quality but prevented poor consumers from buying goods cheaply. They fostered work skills but denied apprenticeships to outsiders. They transmitted useful techniques but blocked innovations that posed a threat. Guilds existed widely not because they corrected market failures or served the common good but because they benefited two powerful groups--guild members and political elites."--Rabat de la jaquette "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 competitors, manipulated markets, and blocked innovations. Did the benefits of guilds outweigh their costs? Analyzing thousands of guilds that dominated European economies from 1000 to 1880, The European Guilds uses vivid examples and clear economic reasoning to answer that question. Sheilagh Ogilvie's book features the voices of honorable guild masters, underpaid journeymen, exploited apprentices, shady officials, and outraged customers, and follows the stories of the 'vile encroachers'--Women, migrants, Jews, gypsies, bastards, and many others--desperate to work but hunted down by the guilds as illicit competitors. She investigates the benefits of guilds but also shines a light on their dark side. Guilds sometimes provided important services, but they also manipulated markets to profit their members. They regulated quality but prevented poor consumers from buying goods cheaply. They fostered work skills but denied apprenticeships to outsiders. They transmitted useful techniques but blocked innovations that posed a threat. Guilds existed widely not because they corrected market failures or served the common good but because they benefited two powerful groups--guild members and political elites"--Jacket 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 competitors, manipulated markets, and blocked innovations. Did the benefits of guilds outweigh their costs? Analyzing thousands of guilds that dominated European economies from 1000 to 1880, The European Guilds uses vivid examples and clear economic reasoning to answer that question. Sheilagh Ogilvie's book features the voices of honorable guild masters, underpaid journeymen, exploited apprentices, shady officials, and outraged customers, and follows the stories of the "vile encroachers"--Women, migrants, Jews, gypsies, bastards, and many others - desperate to work but hunted down by the guilds as illicit competitors. She investigates the benefits of guilds but also shines a light on their dark side. Guilds sometimes provided important services, but they also manipulated markets to profit their members. They regulated quality but prevented poor consumers from buying goods cheaply. They fostered work skills but denied apprenticeships to outsiders. They transmitted useful techniques but blocked innovations that posed a threat. Guilds existed widely not because they corrected market failures or served the common good but because they benefited two powerful groups--guild members and political elites