Usury laws and private credit in Lima, Peru. Evidence from notarized records

Luis Zegarra

Explorations in Economic History, 2017, vol. 65, issue C, 68-93

Abstract: I examine the impact of usury laws on the Peruvian credit market between 1825 and 1852. Using a new data set of nearly 2,000 loans from archival sources, I show that the repeal of colonial anti-usury laws in early 1833 had an important effect on the allocation of credit in Lima. It increased interest rates and promoted access to credit. Furthermore, lenders made loans with greater maturities after the repeal of usury laws.

Keywords: N2; N26; N46; K1; Mortgage credit; Usury laws; Interest rates; Access to credit; Latin America (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Working Paper: Usury laws and Private Credit in Lima, Peru. Evidence from notarized contracts (2016)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:exehis:v:65:y:2017:i:c:p:68-93

DOI: 10.1016/j.eeh.2017.02.001

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