The historical school of economics developed in Germany in the second half of the 19th century. The goal of historical economics was to understand how the history of a certain country shaped its economic situation. The historical school was founded by economists Wilhelm Roscher, Bruno Hildebrand, and Karl Knies. By studying various societies they wanted to discover the general stages of development through which all countries must pass. They also believed that for economic policies to be successful they had to be tailored to specific countries based on their historical development and current state. The second iteration of the historical school (roughly after 1870) was founded by Gustav von Schmoller, while other prominent members were Georg Friedrich Knapp and Lujo Brentano. This school influenced the works of Joseph Schumpeter and Max Weber.