I am a Senior Lecturer (tenured) in the Department of Economics at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. I specialize in economic history, with a focus on historical development and long-run economic growth. My research studies the origins of growth, particularly the interplay between institutions, technological change, and human capital.
My work spans periods from medieval Europe to the British Industrial Revolution. It examines how political and property-rights institutions shape investment, how technological change affects the allocation of skills, and how financial markets respond to shifts in collateral. Recent research focuses on land enclosures and credit markets in eighteenth-century England, highlighting the role of collateral in credit expansion and bankruptcies (see [SSRN]), while earlier work studies the role of water power and watermills in medieval economic development.
Current Research
“Land Titling, Credit Expansion, and Bankruptcies: Evidence from the English Enclosures”.
SSRN Working Paper 6633338 (with Tomer Ifergane, Walker Ray, and Lior Farbman)
Abstract. Land titling is expected to expand credit by making land pledgeable, but isolating this collateral channel empirically is difficult. We utilize English enclosures from 1750–1830 as a laboratory: privatization of “common waste” created newly mortgageable land, in contrast with “open-field” enclosures which largely reorganized already titled arable land. A stylized model with endogenous default predicts that an influx of newly pledgeable waste land lowers equilibrium collateral requirements, generating a local credit expansion but an increase in bankruptcies. Using a newly digitized universe of personal bankruptcies from the London Gazette, we find that the enclosure of common waste led to higher bankruptcies, particularly in industrial areas and during downturns. Bankruptcies are concentrated among industrial occupations with tight cash-flow cycles. In contrast, enclosures of open fields reduce bankruptcies. The results clarify a key collateral channel through which property reforms can deepen credit while increasing defaults.
“Mobility Effects of Land Reform: Evidence from Nineteenth-Century English Enclosures”
Studies the mobility effects of land reform in nineteenth-century England. By separating different types of enclosure, the paper shows that migration was driven by changes in agricultural organization and local labor demand, rather than by the loss of common rights. This challenges a common interpretation and highlights a structural reallocation mechanism.
“Nature as a Therapeutic Space in Times of Crisis”
with Ron Ben-Tovim and Tal Litvak-Hirsch
Interdisciplinary project examining how individuals turn to nature during periods of crisis, combining literary analysis of eighteenth-century texts with contemporary survivor narratives. The study explores how environmental and social disruptions shape perceptions of nature and its role in psychological recovery. Funded research grant, March 2025.
“Reclassifying Skill: Millwrights, Labor, and Visual Culture in Early Industrial Britain”
with Ronit Milano
Interdisciplinary project examining the divergence between the economic importance of skilled labor and its marginalization in eighteenth-century visual culture. Combines economic and visual evidence to study how representations of labor contributed to class formation during early industrialization. Proposal advanced to second round of competitive grant funding.
Selected Publications
Mokyr, Joel, Sarid, Assaf, and van der Beek, Karine. “The Wheels of Change: Technology Adoption, Millwrights, and Persistence in Britain’s Industrialization”. The Economic Journal 132 (2022): 1894–1926.
Ben-Zeev, Nadav, Mokyr, Joel and van der Beek, Karine. “Flexible Supply of Apprenticeship in the British Industrial Revolution”. Journal of Economic History 77, no. 1 (2017): 208–250.
Feldman, Naomi and van der Beek, Karine. “Skill Choice and Skill Complementarity in Eighteenth Century England”. Explorations in Economic History 59 (2016): 94–113.
Justman, Moshe and van der Beek, Karine. “Market Forces Shaping Human Capital in Eighteenth Century London”. Economic History Review 68, no. 4 (2015): 1177–1202.
van der Beek, Karine. “The Effects of Political Fragmentation on Investments: A Case Study of Watermill Construction in Medieval Ponthieu, France”. Explorations in Economic History 47 (2010): 369–380.
van der Beek, Karine. “Political Fragmentation, Competition and Investment Decisions: The Medieval Grinding Industry in Ponthieu, France (1150–1250)”. Economic History Review 63, no. 3 (2010): 664–687.
Book Chapters
van der Beek, Karine. “England’s Eighteenth-Century Demand for High-Quality Workmanship: Evidence from Apprenticeship, 1710–1770”. In Institutions, Innovation, and Industrialization: Essays in Economic History and Development, edited by Avner Greif, Lynne Kiesling, and John V.C. Nye. Princeton University Press.