Quantitative Studies of the Renaissance Florentine Economy and Society

Richard T. Lindholm received a doctorate in history and in economics from the University of Chicago. He taught in the Department of Finance, Lundquist College of Business, University of Oregon.

“Lindholm’s Quantitative Studies illuminates the underlying dynamics of plague mortality, residential patterns, home ownership, wealth distribution and women’s work in the wool industry in Renaissance Florence. Drawing on economic theory and advanced statistical methods, yet attentive to microhistorical contexts, this important book opens up new pathways for future research.” —Julius Kirshner, Professor Emeritus of Medieval and Renaissance History, University of Chicago, USA

• List of Illustrations; Preface; Acknowledgments; List of Abbreviations; Introduction; Part I. Risks and Returns; Chapter One The Costs and Benefits of Running Away: Late Medieval Florentine Plague Mortality and Behavior; Chapter Two When Economic Theory Meets Medieval Contracts: Calculating the Monte Comune Interest Rate; Part II. Society; Chapter Three The Chances of Getting Rich in Renaissance Florence: The Wool Industry Occupational Wealth Hierarchy; Chapter Four Palaces and Workers: Neighborhood Residential Segregation in Renaissance Florence; Chapter Five The “State” Makes a Work of Art: The Impact of the Catasto Homeowner Tax Loophole on the Quattrocento Florentine Palazzo Building Boom; Chapter Six Not Getting Ahead in Life: The Lack of Life- Cycle Wealth Accumulation in Quattrocento Tuscany; Part III. Work; Chapter Seven Just Doing Business: Testing Competition in the Renaissance Florentine Wool Industry; Chapter Eight Time for It All: Women in the Renaissance Florentine Wool Industry; Chapter Nine Why Were Renaissance Florentine Wool Industry Companies So Small?; Conclusion; Glossary; Bibliography; Index.