Bas Van Bavel
Department of History and Art History - Economic and Social
Utrecht University
Netherlands
Biography
Through my research, I want to understand how societies develop in the long run and explain the striking differences we observe in their developmental path. Together with the young researchers working on my projects, I aim to find out why some societal arrangements are successful and others are not, and what drives the formation of these arrangements. Success can be measured economically, in GDP per capita or wealth, but also in ways which include the social aspects, such as equity and welfare, and the ecological ones, such as sustainable use of resources.
Research Interest
social history
Publications
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Curtis, Daniel & van Bavel, Bas (2015). Better understanding disasters by better using history: Systematically using the historical record as one way to advance research into disasters. International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters, (pp. 1-32) (32 p.).
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van Bavel, B.J.P. & Rijpma, A. (2016). How important were formalized charity and social spending before the rise of the welfare state? A long-run analysis of selected Western European cases, 1400-1850. The Economic History Review, 69 (1), (pp. 159–187) (29 p.).
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van Bavel, B.J.P. (07.07.2016). The Invisible Hand? How Market Economies have Emerged and Declined Since AD 500. (352 p.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
