The mercantilism of fear: Malynes and Misselden

David Reisman ()

Chapter 5 in Mercantilism, 2025, pp 45-67 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: Malynes, a merchant and political consultant, believed that speculators (many of them foreign) were turning the exchanges against England. Since English goods were necessities, a high price should be protected so as to maximise the inflow of treasure. A Royal Exchanger (copied from Medieval practice) would take the parity away from supply and demand. Missenden replied that an increase in exports relative to imports would be a more dependable way of turning the exchange rates in England's favour. A comparison is made with Gresham to show that the discussion was a general one. The nation is an organism. The prince is its brain. The market is a good tool but must be regulated and protected (not least by grants of monopoly). Yet the state itself had not always been reliable: witness the debasement of the coinage. The consumption of imported luxuries is especially detrimental to the national interest. The link between the money supply and prices, just codified by Bodin, was also related to the national interest. Because Malynes postulated an inelastic demand curve for British exports, he did not anticipate a Hume-type reflux.

Keywords: Speculation; Exchange rates; Tradition; State regulation; Consumption (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
ISBN: 9781035347650
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