Nuno Palma
@nunopgpalma.bsky.social
Professor, University of Manchester. Fellow ICS-UL. Director of the Arthur Lewis Lab for Comparative Development. Economic History, Growth & Development, Macroeconomics, Political Economy. Webpage: https://sites.google.com/site/npgpalma/home
Reposted by Nuno Palma
And shoutout to former LSE Economic History staff and PhD students Stephen Broadberry,
@cliochris.bsky.social and @nunopgpalma.bsky.social who have been cited as well. The scientific statement can be found here: www.nobelprize.org/uploads/2025...
@cliochris.bsky.social and @nunopgpalma.bsky.social who have been cited as well. The scientific statement can be found here: www.nobelprize.org/uploads/2025...
www.nobelprize.org
October 13, 2025 at 4:02 PM
And shoutout to former LSE Economic History staff and PhD students Stephen Broadberry,
@cliochris.bsky.social and @nunopgpalma.bsky.social who have been cited as well. The scientific statement can be found here: www.nobelprize.org/uploads/2025...
@cliochris.bsky.social and @nunopgpalma.bsky.social who have been cited as well. The scientific statement can be found here: www.nobelprize.org/uploads/2025...
For anyone interested, the paper is available in open access here:
academic.oup.com/ereh/article...
academic.oup.com/ereh/article...
Anatomy of a premodern state
Abstract. We provide a blueprint for constructing measures of state capacity in premodern states, offering several advantages over the current state of the
academic.oup.com
September 7, 2025 at 10:50 AM
For anyone interested, the paper is available in open access here:
academic.oup.com/ereh/article...
academic.oup.com/ereh/article...
🧩 The takeaway?
Institutions also operate locally. Local legal actors — even unpaid ones — can shape economic trajectories in powerful ways.
The state was heavily involved with the First Industrial Revolution.
Link to the paper:
documents.manchester.ac.uk/display.aspx...
7/7
Institutions also operate locally. Local legal actors — even unpaid ones — can shape economic trajectories in powerful ways.
The state was heavily involved with the First Industrial Revolution.
Link to the paper:
documents.manchester.ac.uk/display.aspx...
7/7
documents.manchester.ac.uk
May 1, 2025 at 6:13 PM
🧩 The takeaway?
Institutions also operate locally. Local legal actors — even unpaid ones — can shape economic trajectories in powerful ways.
The state was heavily involved with the First Industrial Revolution.
Link to the paper:
documents.manchester.ac.uk/display.aspx...
7/7
Institutions also operate locally. Local legal actors — even unpaid ones — can shape economic trajectories in powerful ways.
The state was heavily involved with the First Industrial Revolution.
Link to the paper:
documents.manchester.ac.uk/display.aspx...
7/7
JPs helped towns capitalize on the Industrial Revolution:
⚙️ Industrial towns near coalfields grew faster with more JPs;
📈 JPs helped enforce contracts, settle disputes, and foster trust;
The effects appear gradually over time! The choice of the outcome year is not critical.
6/7
⚙️ Industrial towns near coalfields grew faster with more JPs;
📈 JPs helped enforce contracts, settle disputes, and foster trust;
The effects appear gradually over time! The choice of the outcome year is not critical.
6/7
May 1, 2025 at 6:13 PM
JPs helped towns capitalize on the Industrial Revolution:
⚙️ Industrial towns near coalfields grew faster with more JPs;
📈 JPs helped enforce contracts, settle disputes, and foster trust;
The effects appear gradually over time! The choice of the outcome year is not critical.
6/7
⚙️ Industrial towns near coalfields grew faster with more JPs;
📈 JPs helped enforce contracts, settle disputes, and foster trust;
The effects appear gradually over time! The choice of the outcome year is not critical.
6/7
Crucially, the location of JPs in 1700 was not driven by anticipated growth — meaning the effect is causal, not just correlation.
In other words: more JPs → better long-term development outcomes. 5/7
In other words: more JPs → better long-term development outcomes. 5/7
May 1, 2025 at 6:13 PM
Crucially, the location of JPs in 1700 was not driven by anticipated growth — meaning the effect is causal, not just correlation.
In other words: more JPs → better long-term development outcomes. 5/7
In other words: more JPs → better long-term development outcomes. 5/7