In this dissertation I assess some of the effects for the early modern European economy which resulted from the large-scale discovery and exploitation of precious metals in the New World. I argue that the monetary injections which were a direct result of the increased precious metals availability were an important cause of stimulus for several early modern European economies. The thesis mainly consists of three papers. In the first paper I argue variation in production of precious metals in America can be helpful to identifying the causal effects of money in a macroeconomic setting. Using a panel of six European countries for the period 1531-1790, I find strong reduced-form evidence in favor of non-neutrality of money for changes in real economic activity. The magnitudes are substantial and persist for a long time: an exogenous 10% increase in production of precious metals in America leads to a hump-shaped positive response of real GDP, peaking at an average increase of 1.3% four years later. The evidence suggests this is because prices responded to monetary injections only with considerable lags. The following two chapters are focused on different aspects of the measurement and analysis of the causal effects of the monetary injections for the English economy. In the second paper, I put forward new data on annual coin supply for England over the long run. This is offered not only as a data construction exercise within the specific context of England, but also as a methodological contribution which in principle can be reproduced for some other countries. Finally, in the third paper, I present a historical discussion of the long-term effects of the early modern monetary injections in the context of the English economy. I show the increased availability of precious metals led to liquidity injections which matter for our understanding of the English industrious, industrial, and financial revolutions during early modern period.

中文翻译：

---

现代性的先驱者：1492-1790年的货币注入和欧洲经济增长

在这篇论文中，我评估了新世界大规模发现和开采贵金属对现代欧洲早期经济的一些影响。我认为，货币注入是贵金属供应量增加的直接结果，是刺激几个现代欧洲早期经济的重要原因。本文主要由三篇论文组成。在第一篇论文中，我认为美国贵金属生产的变化可能有助于确定宏观经济环境下货币的因果关系。在1536-1790年期间由六个欧洲国家组成的小组中，我发现有力的简化形式证据支持货币对实际经济活动变化的中立性。幅度是巨大的，并且会持续很长时间：美国贵金属产量的外生增长10％导致对实际GDP的驼峰形积极反应，四年后达到峰值，平均增长1.3％。有证据表明，这是因为价格对货币注入的反应只有相当大的滞后。接下来的两章着重于对货币注入对英国经济的因果影响进行度量和分析的不同方面。在第二篇论文中，我提出了长期英国长期硬币供应的新数据。这不仅作为英格兰特定背景下的数据构建活动提供，而且作为方法学上的贡献而提供，原则上可以在其他一些国家复制。最后，在第三篇论文中 我对英国经济背景下早期现代货币注入的长期影响进行了历史性讨论。我证明了贵金属供应的增加导致流动性注入，这对于我们理解近代早期的英国工业，工业和金融革命至关重要。