Persistent but not consistent: The growth of national income in Holland 1347-1807

In this paper we construct a detailed dataset of the national accounts of Holland (1347-1807). Using this dataset, we demonstrate that this economy was characterized by persistent economic growth caused by, depending on the period, structural change (share of industry and services in the economy increases), technological development, and factor substitution. During the entire period GDP per capita increased by on average 0.19% per year. This persistent growth, however, was highly unstable due largely to the importance of international services in the economy. (C) 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.