Sheilagh Ogilvie on Epidemics, Guilds, and the Persistence of Bad Institutions

Sheilagh Ogilvie on Epidemics, Guilds, and the Persistence of Bad Institutions

Sheilagh Ogilvie has spent decades examining the institutional structures that shaped European economic history, challenging conventional wisdom about everything from guilds to marriage patterns. In her conversation with Tyler, she reveals how studying pandemic responses from the Black Death to COVID-19 provides a unique lens for understanding deeper truths about institutional effectiveness and social constraints.

Tyler and Sheilagh discuss the economic impacts of historical pandemics, the "happy story" of the Black Death and why it doesn't stand up to scrutiny, the history of variolation and how entrepreneurs created vaccination franchises in 18th-century England, why local communities typically managed epidemics better than central authorities, the dastardly nature of medieval guilds, the European marriage pattern and its disputed contribution to economic growth, when sustained economic growth truly began in England, why the Dutch Republic stagnated despite its early success, whether she agrees with Greg Clark's social mobility hypothesis, her experience and conducting "anthropological fieldwork" on English social customs, the communitarian norms she encountered while living in Germany, her upcoming research project on European serfdom, and more.

Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video.

Recorded February 27th, 2025.

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Luigi Zingales on Italy, Google and Conglomeration, and Donald Trump (Live at Mason)

Luigi Zingales on Italy, Google and Conglomeration, and Donald Trump (Live at Mason)

In the third event of this series, Tyler and Luigi Zingales discuss Italy, Donald Trump, Antonio Gramsci, Google and conglomeration, Luchino Visconti, Starbucks, and the surprisingly high productivity of Italian cafés. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video. Other ways to connect Follow us on Twitter and Instagram Follow Tyler on Twitter Email us: cowenconvos@mercatus.gmu.edu Subscribe at our newsletter page to have the latest Conversations with Tyler news sent straight to your inbox.

16 Sep 20151h 16min

Jeffrey Sachs on Charter Cities and How to Reform Graduate Economics Education (Live at Mason)

Jeffrey Sachs on Charter Cities and How to Reform Graduate Economics Education (Live at Mason)

Tyler Cowen and Jeffrey Sachs discuss the resource curse, why Russia failed and Poland succeeded, charter cities, Sach's China optimism, JFK, Paul Rosenstein-Rodan, whether Africa will be able to overcome the middle income trap, Paul Krugman, Sach's favorite novel, premature deindustrialization, and how to reform graduate economics education. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video. Other ways to connect Follow us on Twitter and Instagram Follow Tyler on Twitter Follow Jeff on Twitter Email us: cowenconvos@mercatus.gmu.edu Subscribe at our newsletter page to have the latest Conversations with Tyler news sent straight to your inbox.

31 Mars 20151h 32min

Peter Thiel on Stagnation, Innovation, and What Not to Call your Company (Live at Mason)

Peter Thiel on Stagnation, Innovation, and What Not to Call your Company (Live at Mason)

Peter Thiel and Tyler Cowen, both New York Times bestselling authors, are among today's top global thought leaders and influential innovators. Listen as these two engage in a serious dialogue on the ideas and policies that will shape the future of innovation and progress in the coming years and decades. Peter Thiel is among the most impressive innovators of the past two decades. As co-founder of Paypal and seed-funder for Facebook, Thiel has been instrumental in the conception and growth of some of today's most entrepreneurial and innovative companies. In his latest best-selling book, Zero to One, Thiel explains how to build a better future by capitalizing on innovation. A staunch optimist, he maintains that progress can be achieved anywhere the human mind is able to think creatively. Thiel describes how entrepreneurial thinking leads to innovation, which builds something new and moves the mark from zero to one. Note: Due to a technical malfunction, the audio quality briefly drops from 11:15 - 13:30. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video. Other ways to connect Follow us on Twitter and Instagram Follow Tyler on Twitter Follow Peter on Twitter Email us: cowenconvos@mercatus.gmu.edu Subscribe at our newsletter page to have the latest Conversations with Tyler news sent straight to your inbox.

25 Mars 20151h 20min

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