Einkommen, Management und ökonomisches ...

Baroque castles, conspicuous consumption and prodigality were used in historiography to describe the nobility as the ruling social group in the early modern period. Literature on noble elites in the Habsburg monarchy likewise reflects such topics and topoi. This project, however, focuses not on expenditures, but on the income and the economic role of the nobility. Based on the assumption that the aristocracy must raise the means for their distinguished lifestyle as public display of power, I consider noble entrepreneurship and management strategies as important factor for economic development regarding both, the family itself and the monarchy. Due to the nobility’s privileged status, the aristocracy possessed the capital, the infrastructure and the manpower to make investments in agriculture, industry, technology and banking. Income and family strategies diversified in the eighteenth century since traditional fields of activity such as military service became less important. I will explore noble engagement in the Habsburg economy on the basis of Schumpeter’s pre-capitalist model of entrepreneurship. This approach will enable me to discover long-term family strategies in the economy that in the end increased income and risk management. Secondly, I will focus on innovations and management strategies in agriculture, estate administration, industry, banking and joint stock companies.