From Warfare to Wealth

Mark Dincecco is Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Michigan. He is the author of Political Transformations and Public Finances: Europe, 1650–1913 (Cambridge, 2011). In 2016–17, he was the Edward Teller National Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, California. Massimiliano Gaetano Onorato is a faculty member in the Department of Economics and Finance at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milano. He is the author of several peer-reviewed journal articles. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Università Commerciale Luigi Bocconi, Milan. In 2010–11, he was a Post-doctoral Research Associate at the Leitner Program in International and Comparative Political Economy at Yale University, Connecticut.

'This bold and fascinating book argues that the prosperity of the modern West grew out of the constant warfare of medieval Europe. Conflict strengthened states and drew people to the safety of cities. Europe's remarkable combination of political competition and urbanization then spurred innovation and economic success. This remarkable book combines rich new data sources and creative ideas.' Edward Glaeser, Fred and Eleanor Glimp Professor of Economics, Harvard University, Massachusetts

• 1. Introduction; 2. The importance of warfare; 3. Europe's urban rise; 4. Evaluating the safe harbor effect; 5. Evaluating the warfare-to-wealth effect; 6. Warfare to wealth in comparative perspective; Epilogue.