大量的文献都把家庭作为一项重要的制度。但很少有人注意到家庭结构的影响及其对制度的推动作用。这限制了我们理解过去和现在不同制度的发展,以及相应的经济增长。本文通过集中讨论欧洲家庭结构对历史上居最重要的某一制度变迁的重要性,来证实以上观点,并反思其有关经济增长的含义。欧洲中世纪晚期,经济和政治组织的出现构成了这种变化。与历史含义一致,自治组织被定义为:有意创建的,自愿的,基于利益的,自治的永久性团体。行会、兄弟会、大学、社区(commune)和城邦是一些曾经在欧洲 A large number of documents regard the family as an important system. Few people noticed the impact of family structure and its role in promoting the system. This limits our understanding of the development of different systems of the past and the present, as well as the corresponding economic growth. This article corroborates the above perspective by focusing on the importance of the European family structure to the most important institutional change in history and examines its implications for economic growth. In the late Middle Ages of Europe, the emergence of economic and political organizations constituted such a change. Consistent with historical implication, autonomous organizations are defined as: voluntary, interest-based, autonomous permanent groups that are intended to be created. Guilds, fraternities, universities, communes and polis are some used to be in Europe