Different paths to the modern state in Europe: the interaction between domestic political economy and interstate competition

Theoretical work on state formation and capacity has focused mostly on early modern Europe and on the experience of western European states during this period. While a number of European states monopolized domestic tax collection and achieved gains in state capacity during the early modern era, for others revenues stagnated or even declined, and these variations motivated alternative hypotheses for determinants of fiscal and state capacity. In this study we test the basic hypotheses in the existing literature making use of the large date set we have compiled for all of the leading states across the continent. We find strong empirical support for two prevailing threads in the literature, arguing respectively that interstate wars and changes in economic structure towards an urbanized economy had positive fiscal impact. Regarding the main point of contention in the theoretical literature, whether it was representative or authoritarian political regimes that facilitated the gains in fiscal capacity, we do not find conclusive evidence that one performed better than the other. Instead, the empirical evidence we have gathered lends supports to the hypothesis that when under pressure of war, the fiscal performance of representative regimes was better in the more urbanized-commercial economies and the fiscal performance of authoritarian regimes was better in rural-agrarian economie

Monetary capacity

Monetary capacity refers to a state’s capacity to circulate money that is accepted by the public, while fiscal capacity refers to its capacity to tax. We argue that monetary and fiscal capacity, and by extension, markets and states are complements. The long-run European evidence since antiquity shows money stocks and tax revenues moving in close synch. History also offers a natural experiment to estimate the causal effect of monetary capacity on fiscal capacity. The discovery of silver in the New World increased money stocks followed by tax revenues, a finding that is robust to controlling for economic growth

Clinical and demographic features of hidradenitis suppurativa: a multicentre study of 1221 patients with an analysis of risk factors associated with disease severity

Background: Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic, relapsing and debilitating inflammatory disease associated with profound morbidity. Aim: In this multicentre study, we investigated the demographic and clinical features of HS, and determined risk factors of disease severity. Methods: In total, 1221 patients diagnosed with HS from 29 centres were enrolled, and the medical records of each patient were reviewed. Results: The mean age of disease onset was 26.2 ± 10.4 years, and almost 70% (n = 849) of patients were current or former smokers. Mean disease duration was 8.9 ± 8.4 years with a delay in diagnosis of 5.8 ± 3.91 years. Just over a fifth (21%; n = 256) of patients had a family history of HS. The axillary, genital and neck regions were more frequently affected in men than in women, and the inframammary region was more frequently affected in women than in men (P < 0.05 for all). Acne (40.8%), pilonidal sinus (23.6%) and diabetes mellitus (12.6%) were the most prevalent associated diseases. Of the various therapies used, antibiotics (76.4%) were most common followed by retinoids (41.7%), surgical interventions (32.0%) and biologic agents (15.4%). Logistic regression analysis revealed that the most important determinants of disease severity were male sex (OR = 2.21) and involvement of the genitals (OR = 3.39) and inguinal region (OR = 2.25). More severe disease was associated with comorbidity, longer disease duration, longer diagnosis delay and a higher number of smoking pack-years. Conclusions: Our nationwide cohort study found demographic and clinical variation in HS, which may help broaden the understanding of HS and factors associated with disease severity. © 2020 British Association of Dermatologist

Clinical and demographic features of hidradenitis suppurativa: a multicentre study of 1221 patients with an analysis of risk factors associated with disease severity.

Background Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic, relapsing and debilitating inflammatory disease associated with profound morbidity

LID - 10.1111/ced.14478 [doi]

BACKGROUND: Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic, relapsing and debilitating inflammatory disease associated with profound morbidity. AIM: In this multicentre study, we investigated the demographic and clinical features of HS, and determined risk factors of disease severity. METHODS: In total, 1221 patients diagnosed with HS from 29 centres were enrolled, and the medical records of each patient were reviewed. RESULTS: The mean age of disease onset was 26.2 ± 10.4 years, and almost 70% (n = 849) of patients were current or former smokers. Mean disease duration was 8.9 ± 8.4 years with a delay in diagnosis of 5.8 ± 3.91 years. Just over a fifth (21%; n = 256) of patients had a family history of HS. The axillary, genital and neck regions were more frequently affected in men than in women, and the inframammary region was more frequently affected in women than in men (P < 0.05 for all). Acne (40.8%), pilonidal sinus (23.6%) and diabetes mellitus (12.6%) were the most prevalent associated diseases. Of the various therapies used, antibiotics (76.4%) were most common followed by retinoids (41.7%), surgical interventions (32.0%) and biologic agents (15.4%). Logistic regression analysis revealed that the most important determinants of disease severity were male sex (OR = 2.21) and involvement of the genitals (OR = 3.39) and inguinal region (OR = 2.25). More severe disease was associated with comorbidity, longer disease duration, longer diagnosis delay and a higher number of smoking pack-years. CONCLUSIONS: Our nationwide cohort study found demographic and clinical variation in HS, which may help broaden the understanding of HS and factors associated with disease severity