Did Genoa and Venice Kick a Financial Revolution in the Quattrocento?

Michele Fratianni and Franco Spinelli

Working Papers from Oesterreichische Nationalbank (Austrian Central Bank)

Abstract: Did the city-states of Genoa and Venice kick a financial revolution all the way back in the Quattrocento, much sooner than the financial revolutions of the Netherlands, England and America? To answer this question we analyze the classic revolutions in terms of three key criteria: credibility of debtor’s promises, the role of national banks in facilitating the development of financial markets, and the extent and depth of financial and monetary innovations. We then compare the record of Genoa and Venice with the benchmark from the three classic financial revolutions. The upshot is that the two maritime city-states had developed many of the features that were to be found later on in the Netherlands, England and the United States. The importance of Genoa and Venice as financial innovators has been eclipsed by the fact that these two city-states did not survive politically. Instead, the innovations were absorbed in the long chain of financial evolution and, in the process, lost the identity of their creators.

Keywords: financial revolution; credibility; debt; public bank; Genoa; Venice. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F34 H63 N13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 60
Date: 2006-01-18
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cba, nep-fmk, nep-his, nep-hpe and nep-pke
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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