Hostname: page-component-7b9c58cd5d-v2ckm Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-03-14T22:55:14.362Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Financial Intermediation in the Early Roman Empire

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 September 2004

PETER TEMIN
PETER TEMIN
Affiliation:
Professor, Department of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 50 Memorial Drive, Cambridge, MA 02142-1347. E-mail: ptemin@mit.edu
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

I evaluate the effectiveness of financial markets in the early Roman Empire in this article. I review the theory of financial intermediation to describe a hierarchy of financial sources and survey briefly the history of financial intermediation in eighteenth-century Western Europe to provide a standard against which to evaluate the Roman evidence. I then describe the nature of financial arrangements in the early Roman Empire in terms of this hierarchy. This exercise reveals the extent to which the Roman economy resembled more recent societies and sheds light on the prospects for economic growth in the Roman Empire.

Type
ARTICLES
Information
The Journal of Economic History , Volume 64 , Issue 3 , September 2004 , pp. 705 - 733
Copyright
© 2004 The Economic History Association

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Akerlof George A. 1970 “The Market for ‘Lemons’: Quality Uncertainty and the Market Mechanism.” Quarterly Journal of Economics 84, no. 3 488– 500.Google Scholar
Andreau Jean. 1974 Les affaires de Monsieur Jucundus. Rome: École Française de Rome,
Andreau Jean. 1977 “Fondations privées et rapports sociaux en Italie romaine.” Ktema 2 157– 209.Google Scholar
Andreau Jean. 1987 La vie financière dans le monde romain: les metiers de manieurs d'argent. Rome: École Française de Rome,
Andreau Jean. 1994 “Affaires financiers à Pouzzoles au premier siècle ap. J.-C.: les tablettes de Murecine.” Revue des études latines 72 39– 55.Google Scholar
Andreau Jean. 1999. Banking and Business in the Roman World. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
Andreau Jean. 2000 “Commerce and Finance.” In The Cambridge Ancient History, vol. 11, The High Empire, A.D. 70–192, edited by Alan K. Bowman, Peter Garnsey, and Dominic Rathbone, 769– 87. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
Badian Ernst. 1972 Publicans and Sinners. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press,
Billeter Gustav. 1898 Geschichte des Zinsfusses im Griechisch-Römischen Altertum bis auf Justinian. Leipzig: Teubner,
Bogaert Raymond. 1968 Banques et Banquiers dans les Cités Grecques. Leyden: Sijthoff,
Bogaert Raymond. 2000 “Les operations des banques de l'Égypte romaine.” Ancient Society, 30 135– 269.Google Scholar
Calomiris Charles W. 1995 “The Costs of Rejecting Universal Banking: American Finance in the German Mirror, 1870–1914.” In Coordination and Information, edited by Naomi R. Lamoreaux and Daniel M. G. Raff, 257– 315. Chicago: University of Chicago Press,
Camodeca Giuseppi. 1992 L'Archivio puteolani dei Sulpicii, Vol. 1. Naples: Jovene,
Capie Forrest. 2001 “The Origin and Development of Stable Fiscal and Monetary Institutions in England.” In Transferring Wealth and Power from the Old to the New World, edited by Michael D. Bordo and Roberto Cortés-Conde, 19– 58. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
Cicero. 1999 Letters to Atticus. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press,
Cicero. 1969 Pro Lege Manilian. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press,
Cicero. 1969 The Verrine Orations. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press,
Cohen Edward E. 1992 Athenian Economy and Society: A Banking Perspective. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press,
Columella. 1969 On Agriculture. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press,
Dehing Pit, and Marjolein ‘T Hart. 1997 “Linking the Fortunes: Currency and Banking, 1550–1800.” In A Financial History of the Netherlands, edited by Marjolein ‘T Hart, Joost Jonker and Jan Luiten van Zanden, 37– 63. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
1893 Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum. Berolini: Apud G. Reimerum,
Dessau Hermann. 1962 Inscriptiones Latinae Selectae. Berolini: Apud Weidmannos,
Duncan-Jones Richard. 1982 The Economy of the Roman Empire, 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
Duncan-Jones Richard. 1994 Money and Government in the Roman Empire. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
Finley M. I. 1973 The Ancient Economy. Berkeley: University of California Press,
Frank Tenney, ed. 1933–40 Economic Survey of Ancient Rome. Baltimore: John Hopkins Press,
Froot Kenneth A. 1995 “Incentive Problems in Financial Contracting: Impacts on Corporate Financing, Investment, and Risk Management Policies.” In The Global Financial System: A Functional Perspective, edited by Dwight B. Crane, et al., 225– 62. Boston: Harvard Business School Press,
Garnsey Peter, and Richard Saller. 1987 The Roman Empire: Economy, Society, and Culture. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press,
Gelderblom Oscar, and Joost Jonker. 2004 “Completing a Financial Revolution: The Finance of the Dutch East India Trade and the Rise of the Amsterdam Capital Market, 1595–1612.” This JOURNAL 64, no. 3 641– 72.Google Scholar
Greene Kevin. 2000 “Technological Innovation and Economic Progress in the Ancient World: M. I. Finley Re-Considered.” Economic History Review 53, no. 1 1, 29– 59.Google Scholar
Greif Avner. 1994 “Cultural Beliefs and the Organization of Society: A Historical and Theoretical Reflection on Collectivist and Individualist Societies.” Journal of Political Economy 102, no. 5 912– 50.Google Scholar
Grenfell Bernard P., Arthur S. Hunt, and David G. Hogarth. 1900 Fayum Towns and their Papyri. London: Egypt Exploration Fund,
Harris W. V. 1993 “Between Archaic and Modern: Some Current Problems on the History of the Roman Economy” In The Inscribed Economy: Production and Distribution in the Roman Economy in the Light of the ‘Instrumentum Domesticum’,” edited by W. V. Harris, 11– 29. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press,
Hoffman Philip T., Gilles Postel-Vinay, and Jean-Laurent Rosenthal. 2000 Priceless Markets: The Political Economy of Credit in Paris, 1660–1870. Chicago: University of Chicago Press,
Hopkins Keith. 1980 “Taxes and Trade in the Roman Empire (200 B.C.–A.D. 400).” Journal of Roman Studies 70 101– 25..Google Scholar
Hopkins Keith. 2002 “Rome, Taxes, Rents and Trade,” Kodai: Journal of Ancient History 6/7 (1995–96), 41–75, reprinted in The Ancient Economy, edited by Walter Scheidel and Sitta Von Reden, 190– 530. London: Routledge,
1926 Inscriptions de Delos. Paris: H. Champion,
Jongman Willem. 1988 The Economy and Society of Pompeii. Amsterdam: J. C. Gieben,
Jongman Willem. 2002 “The Roman Economy: From Cities to Empire.” In The Transformation of Economic Life under the Roman Empire, edited by Lucas de Blois and John Rich, 28– 47. Amsterdam: Gieben,
Josephus. 1969 The Jewish War. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press,
Joslin D. M. 1954 “London Private Bankers, 1720–85.” Economic History Review 7, no. 2 167– 86.Google Scholar
Kehoe Dennis P. 1997 Investment, Profit, and Tenancy: The Jurists and the Roman Agrarian Economy. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press,
Kindleberger Charles P. 1984 “Financial Institutions and Economic Development: A Comparison of Great Britain and France in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries.” Explorations in Economic History 21, no. 2 103– 24.Google Scholar
King Robert G., and Ross Levine. 1993 “Finance and Growth: Schumpeter Might be Right.” Quarterly Journal of Economics 108, no. 3 717– 37.Google Scholar
Lamoreaux Naomi R. 1994 Insider Lending: Banks, Personal Connections, and Economic Development in Industrial New England. Chicago: University of Chicago Press,
Laum Bernhard. 1914 Stiftungen in der griechischen und romischen Antike. Ein Beitrag zur antiken Kulturgeschichte. Leipzig: Teubner,
Levine Ross. 1997 “Financial Development and Economic Growth: Views and Agenda.” Journal of Economic Literature 35, no. 2 688– 726.Google Scholar
De Ligt Luuk. 2002 “Tax Transfers in the Roman Empire.” In The Transformation of Economic Life under the Roman Empire, edited by Lucas de Blois and John Rich, 48– 66. Amsterdam: Gieben,
Livy. 1969 History of Rome. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press,
Malmendier Ulrike. “Shares in Ancient Rome.” In Of Interest and Enterprise: Essays in the History of Financial Innovation, edited by G. Rouwenhorst and W. Goetzmann, forthcoming.
Mattingly David J., and John Salmon, eds. 2001 Economies Beyond Agriculture in the Classical World. London: Routledge,
Mathias Peter. 1999 “Minorities and Elites: How Do Minorities Become Elites?” In Elites, Minorities, and Economic Growth, edited by Elise Brezis and Peter Temin, 115– 28. Amsterdam: Elsevier,
Millett Paul. 2001 “Productive to Some Purpose? The Problem of Economic Growth.” In Economies Beyond Agriculture in the Classical World, edited by David J. Mattingly and John Salmon, 17– 48. London: Routledge,
Mishkin Frederick S. 1998 Financial Markets and Institutions, Second Edition. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley,
Neal Larry. 1990 The Rise of Financial Capitalism: International Capital Markets in the Age of Reason. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
Neal Larry. 1994 “The Finance of Business during the Industrial Revolution” In The Economic History of Britain since 1700, Second Edition, edited by Roderick Floud and Donald McCloskey, vol. 1, 151– 81. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
North Douglass, and Barry Weingast. 1989 “Constitutions and Commitment: The Evolution of Institutions Governing Public Choice in Seventeenth-Century England.” This JOURNAL 49, no. 4 803– 32.Google Scholar
Parker A. J. 1992 Ancient Shipwrecks of the Mediterranean & the Roman Provinces. Oxford: Tempus Reparatum,
Pliny (the Younger). 1969 Letters. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press,
Plutarch. 1969 Cato Major (the Elder). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press,
Pressnell L. S. 1956 Country Banking in the Industrial Revolution. Oxford: Oxford University Press,
Quinn Stephen. 2001 “The Glorious Revolution's Effect on English Private Finance: A Microhistory, 1680–1705.” This JOURNAL 61, no. 3 593– 615.Google Scholar
Rajan Raghuram G., and Luigi Zingales. “Financial Dependence and Growth.” American Economic Review 88, no. 3 1998 559– 86.Google Scholar
Rathbone Dominic. 2000 “The ‘Muziris’ papyrus (SB XVIII 13167): financing Roman trade with India.” In Alexandrian Studies II in Honor of Mostafa el Abbadi, Bulletin de la Société archéologique d'Alexandrie 4-6 39– 50.Google Scholar
Reger Gary. 1992 “Private Property and Private Loans on Independent Delos (314–167 B.C.).” Phoenix 46 322– 41.Google Scholar
Riley James C. 1980 International Government Finance and the Amsterdam Capital Market, 1740–1815. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
Rousseau Peter L., and Richard Sylla. 2003 “Financial Systems, Economic Growth, and Globalization.” In Globalization in Historical Perspective, edited by Michael D. Bordo, Alan M. Taylor, and Jeffrey G. Williamson, 373– 413. Chicago: University of Chicago Press,
Saller Richard. 2002 “Framing the Debate over Growth in the Ancient Economy.” In The Ancient Economy: Evidence and Models, edited by Joseph Manning and Ian Morris. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, forthcoming. Reprinted in The Ancient Economy, edited by Walter Scheidel and Sita von Reden, 251– 69. New York: Routledge,
Scott William Robert. 1995 The Constitution and Finance of English and Irish Joint-Stock Companies to 1720. Bristol: Thoemmes Press, a reprint of the 1910–12 edition.
Selgin George. 2003 “Steam, Hot Air, and Small Change: Matthew Boulton and the Reform of Britain's Coinage.” Economic History Review 56, no. 3 478– 509.Google Scholar
Shelton Jo-Ann. 1998 As the Romans Did: A Sourcebook in Roman Social History, Second edition. New York Oxford University Press,
Sirri Erik R., and Peter Tufano. 1995 “The Economics of Pooling.” In The Global Financial System: A Functional Perspective, edited by Dwight B. Crane, et al., 81– 128. Boston: Harvard Business School Press,
Sosin Joshua. 2000 “Agio at Delphi.” Numismatic Chronicle 160 67– 80.Google Scholar
Sosin Joshua. 2001 “Accounting and Endowments.” Tyche: Beiträge zur Alten Geschichte, Papyrologie und Epigraphik 16 161– 75.
Stiglitz Joseph E., and Andrew Weiss. 1981 “Credit Rationing in Markets with Imperfect Information.” American Economic Review 71, no. 3 393– 410.Google Scholar
Temin Peter, and Hans-Joachim Voth. 2003 “Banking as an Emerging Technology: Hoare's Bank 1702–1742.” MIT Economics Department working paper,Google Scholar
Van der Wee Herman. 1977 “Monetary, Credit and Banking Systems.” In The Cambridge Economic History of Europe, vol. 5, edited by E. E. Rich and C. H. Wilson, 290– 392. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
De Vries Jan, and Ad van der Woude. 1997 The First Modern Economy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
Voltaire. 1977 Correspondance. Edited by Theodore Besterman. Paris: Gallimard,
White Eugene. 2003 “The Paris Bourse, 1724–1814: Experiments in Microstructure.” In Finance, Intermediaries, and Economic Development, edited by Stanley Engerman, et al., Chapter 2. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
2002 Wilson Andrew. “Machines, Power and the Ancient Economy.” Journal of Roman Studies 92 1– 32.Google Scholar