Capital women : the European marriage pattern female empowerment and economic development in Western Europe 1300 1800 Jan Luiten van Zanden Tine De Moor and Sarah Carmichael argue that over centuries a European Marriage Pattern developed characterized by high numbers of singles among men and women high marriage ages among men and women and neolocality where the couple formed a new nuclear household and did not coreside with the parents. This distinctive pattern emerged due to the influence of the Catholic Churchs teachings of marriage based on consensus the rise of labor markets and specific institutions concerning property transfers between generations that enhanced wage labor by women. Over time an unprecedented demographic regime was created and embedded in a highly commercial environment in which households interacted frequently with labor capital and commodity markets. This was one of the main causes of the gradual move away from a Malthusian state towards an economy able to generate long term economic growth The broader picture : the global determinants of female agency and economic growth The patterns behind change : origins and features of the European marriage pattern Effects on human capital formation Effect on capital market development The effect on the labour market : womens wages human capital formation and fertility The dark side of the EMP Testing the nuclear hardship hypothesis The institutional effect : alternatives for family ties the role of trust and the emergence of the commercial household Beguines : living single and safe Conclusion : the EMP in Eurasian perspective