Women and Credit in Pre-industrial Europe
This collection of essays compare and discuss women’s participation and experiences in credit markets in early modern Europe and highlight the characteristics, common mechanisms, similarities, discrepancies, and differences across various periods of time and regions. The essays cover various regions in Europe in different time periods and at all levels of society. The emphasis is placed particularly on their role as creditors and debtors, a topic largely ignored in traditional historiography, but also and above all on the evolution of their roles across time. Were women able to enter the credit market, and how? In what proportion? What was then the meaning of their involvement in this market? What did their involvement mean for the community and for their household? Was credit a vector of female emancipation and empowerment? What were the changes that occurred for them in the transition to capitalism?
Current research
This project is funded by Riksbankens Jubileumsfond via a Pro Futura Scientia grant.
What is Human Economy?
Human economy is an innovative interdisciplinary scientific field dedicated to the observation and analysis of people economic needs and experiences. It aims at (1) complementing and enriching the traditional field of economics by offering and promoting new ideas and innovative solutions from other disciplines, (2)voicing the experiences of people and communities, (3) and proposing concrete policy-driven solutions in which research makes a direct impact.
Human economy tackles observations and analysis to some of the most pressing issues, such as indebtedness, gender equality, poverty alleviation, sustainable development, and growing inequality; and ultimately proposes innovative ideas and solutions for a fairer economy and society.
The main idea behind human economy is to restore a dialogue between disciplines in order to come together to the best and most adapted solutions and analysis with a focus on communities’ well-being.
Humanities and social sciences research can offer alternative perspectives to traditional economics leading to a broader range of policy-driven solutions.
Human Economy is conceived broadly and the lecture series will be an incubator of innovative ideas.
This project examines the role and participation of women in private credit transactions and credit networks in Sweden and Finland from 1750 to 1850.
It will start in January 2018 and will take place at the Stockholm School of Economics.
Elise M. Dermineur (ed.), Women and Credit in Pre-Industrial Europe. Brepols, 2017.
Elise M. Dermineur, Åsa Karlsson Sjögren, Virginia Langum (ed.), Revisiting Gender in European History 1400-1800. Routledge, 2017.
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