Bas van Leeuwen receives EU grant for research into industrialisation since 1800

The Industrial Revolution may be a famous historical event, but how, where and why exactly did it emerge? Surprisingly little is known about how and why industrialisation moved across the globe. The European Research Council (ERC) has awarded an ERC Starting Grant of circa 1.4 million euros to Dr Bas van Leeuwen (Economic and Social History) to study these matters in the next 5 years. The project proposal has been submitted from Utrecht University, but the research will be conducted at the International Institute for Social History (IISH-KNAW) in Amsterdam, with which the UU's Research Institute for History and Art History collaborates closely.

In his project ‘The Historical dynamics of Industrialization in Northwestern Europe and China, 1800-2010’, Van Leeuwen will work together with two PhD candidates, a postdoc researcher and a research assistant.

Testing theories

There are many theories telling us why industries rise and decline but, due to lack of data and empirical models, most analyses are performed on country level while industrialisation, especially initially, was a regional process. Without adequate regional data or a final empirical model it is difficult, if not impossible, to determine which theory is the most valid.

The question is further complicated because the importance of each theory in explaining industrialisation may change over time. At the start of the 19th century, access to cheap raw materials may have been more essential than now. Later, with the reduction of transportation and transaction costs, market potential gained in importance. This implies that late industrialisers face different circumstances and, hence, may experience a different development path.

Data on European and Chinese regions

In order to empirically test existing groups of theories, Van Leeuwen will collect data on 4 macro regions, which mirror the differences in timing of industrialisation:

1. England (the first industrialiser)
2. The Low Countries (an early follower)
3. The Yangtze region in China (a late follower and the focus of the great Divergence debate)
4. The Yungui region in China (abundant in raw materials, experienced an early industrialization, and was an important trading region. Yet, also belonging to the poorest regions in China at present)

Within each of these 4 macro regions Van Leeuwen and his team will analyse the sub-regional path of industrialisation on county/province/prefecture level.

Empirical model

With theories and data, the third aspect of this research concerns the empirical model. The researchers will be using a modified version of an empirical multi-level model from other disciplines such as sociology, including spatial correlations to see how regions affect each other. This approach will allow them not only to isolate macro-region level effects from sub-region level effects, but also to incorporate all existing theories on the spread of industrialisation into one model.

Institutions

This research project is part of Utrecht University's strategic theme Institutions. This area of research explores the manner in which societies derive their strength and resilience from the quality of their rules on human interaction, as embodied in institutions.