The speed of the financial revolution
Subtitle: evidence from Hoare's Bank
By: [by] Peter Temin [and] Hans-Joachim Voth
Contributors: Voth, Hans-Joachim; Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Economics
Series: Working paper series / Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Economics -- working paper 04-12; Working paper (Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Economics) -- no. 04-12.
Publisher: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Economics
Published: 2004
Place of publication: Cambridge, MA
Language: eng
Number of pages: 49
Description: Finance is important for development, yet the onset of modern economic growth in Britain lagged the British financial revolution by over a century. We present evidence from a new West-End London private bank to explain this delay. Hoare's Bank loaned primarily to a highly select and well-born clientele, although it did not discriminate against "unknown" borrowers in the early 18th century. It could not extend credit more generally because of government restrictions (usury limits) and policies (frequent wars). Britain's financial development could have aided growth substantially, had it not been for the rigidities and turmoil introduced by government interference. Keywords: Financial Revolution, growth, finance, rationing, usury laws, institutional development, eighteenth-century England. JEL Classifications: E44, N23, N13, G21, G18, G28.
Notes: "March 2004."

Includes bibliographical references (p. 41-45).

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