Catholic and Protestant cities had shared comparable numbers of scientists per capita prior to the Counter-Reformation, but Catholic cities experienced a cataclysmic relative decline at C-R implementation

Cabello, Matias, The Counter-Reformation, Science, and Long-Term Growth: A Black Legend? (March 15, 2023). SSRN: http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4389708

Abstract: To identify effects of science on growth in the long-term, we need a shock to science which is sufficiently persistent. Was the Counter-Reformation—the Catholic reaction to Protestantism—such a shock? Did it harm science, unintentionally but enduringly, and thereby depress economic growth, as some historians have claimed? This paper presents vast evidence in favor of this contested narrative. It finds that, across Europe, Catholic and Protestant cities had shared comparable numbers of scientists per capita prior to the Counter-Reformation, but Catholic cities experienced a cataclysmic relative decline precisely when the Counter-Reformation was implemented, especially among more heavily treated units. It then shows that the shock persisted in the long term, largely thanks to the reactivation of Counter-Reformation-rooted policies centuries later. Finally, it exploits this persistence to estimate long-term growth effects and confirms them using alternative variance unrelated to the Counter-Reformation. Overall, the Counter-Reformation appears to be one of the largest shocks to science in human history.

Keywords: Science, long-term economic growth, Catholicism, Counter-Reformation, Inquisition, Spanish Empire, censorship, dictatorships, conservatism, political economy, causes of persistence

JEL Classification: N00, P00, N10, O11, O10, O30, O43, Z12, F50