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“…and they lived happily ever after”? Commercial Retirement in an Early Modern Hospital in Regensburg, 1649-1809

Pelzl, Johannes Ludwig LU (2018) EKHS11 20181
Department of Economic History
Abstract
The way how retirement is organized in a society is linked to multiple basic social processes such as the evolution of family ties, migration or inheritance. Intra-familial care and charity dominate our view of retirement in the pre-industrial past, while commercial arrangements hardly play a role. This thesis delivers a case study on how the commercial retirement home of St. Catherine’s Hospital in Regensburg worked in the early modern period (1649 to 1809), utilizing a brand-new archival dataset. The relative cost of retirement changed much over time, rising steeply in the 18th century after a long period of very affordable prices in the 17th century, partly due to macro-economic developments. The institution’s retirees were... (More)
The way how retirement is organized in a society is linked to multiple basic social processes such as the evolution of family ties, migration or inheritance. Intra-familial care and charity dominate our view of retirement in the pre-industrial past, while commercial arrangements hardly play a role. This thesis delivers a case study on how the commercial retirement home of St. Catherine’s Hospital in Regensburg worked in the early modern period (1649 to 1809), utilizing a brand-new archival dataset. The relative cost of retirement changed much over time, rising steeply in the 18th century after a long period of very affordable prices in the 17th century, partly due to macro-economic developments. The institution’s retirees were overproportionally single or widowed women, had a migration history and came mostly from middle and lower classes. Based on daily calory intake they there enjoyed a well-above average living standard. We find that some personal aspects such as sex, confession and age mattered much in the pricing, while others like income did not. There is much evidence that St. Catherine’s underpriced its retirement offers. (Less)
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author
Pelzl, Johannes Ludwig LU
supervisor
organization
course
EKHS11 20181
year
type
H1 - Master's Degree (One Year)
subject
keywords
early modern period, commercial retirement, old age provision, hospital, Regensburg
language
English
id
8958584
date added to LUP
2018-09-20 09:37:32
date last changed
2018-09-20 09:37:32
@misc{8958584,
  abstract     = {{The way how retirement is organized in a society is linked to multiple basic social processes such as the evolution of family ties, migration or inheritance. Intra-familial care and charity dominate our view of retirement in the pre-industrial past, while commercial arrangements hardly play a role. This thesis delivers a case study on how the commercial retirement home of St. Catherine’s Hospital in Regensburg worked in the early modern period (1649 to 1809), utilizing a brand-new archival dataset. The relative cost of retirement changed much over time, rising steeply in the 18th century after a long period of very affordable prices in the 17th century, partly due to macro-economic developments. The institution’s retirees were overproportionally single or widowed women, had a migration history and came mostly from middle and lower classes. Based on daily calory intake they there enjoyed a well-above average living standard. We find that some personal aspects such as sex, confession and age mattered much in the pricing, while others like income did not. There is much evidence that St. Catherine’s underpriced its retirement offers.}},
  author       = {{Pelzl, Johannes Ludwig}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{“…and they lived happily ever after”? Commercial Retirement in an Early Modern Hospital in Regensburg, 1649-1809}},
  year         = {{2018}},
}