... In general, the further East one got, the slower new techniques were to spread. Thus there were supply-side reasons for grain exports from preemancipation eastern Europe to stagnate at a level far below what was ecologically possible" (Pomeranz 258). While there were distinct differences involved in these regions, there were some commonalities as well.
According to Dean, Hann, Overton and Whittle (2004), there remains a paucity of studies concerning the role of women and early economic history based on a misperception that women either did not have a role in the wider economy or that women were affected by economic and social change in the same way as men. An early study that challenged these assumptions conducted of women's work in the seventeenth century divided production into three co-existing types:
Domestic industry." This type of work was done exclusively for the use of the family;
Family industry." This type of work was done out at home as well, but with the goal of selling or exchanging goods;
Capitalist industry." This type of work was done in exchange for a wage payment (Dean, Hann, Overton & Whittle 4).
The respective work roles performed by men and women, as well as of unmarried and married women, varied considerably depending on the type of production involved; however, these authors note that all peasants were particularly affected by the transformation to capitalist industry, which took the work out of the family home (Dean et al. 4). Furthermore, while the transformation from the 15th century subsistence economy was clearly underway during this period in European history, both types of economies were still found and managed to co-exist just as the domestic, family and capitalist industries frequently co-existed. In addition, by the seventeenth century, the higher incidence of adoption of new material goods in urban places combined with the intense close proximity of people in urban regions encouraged many European peasants "to turn inwards and make their living spaces as pleasant as possible as a compensation for the inconveniences...
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