The Evolutionary Chain of International Financial Centers

Michele Fratianni

No 6, Mo.Fi.R. Working Papers from Money and Finance Research group (Mo.Fi.R.) - Univ. Politecnica Marche - Dept. Economic and Social Sciences

Abstract: Financial products are unstandardized and subject to a great deal of uncertainty. They tend to concentrate geographically because of the reduction in information costs resulting from close contacts. Concentration leads to economies of scale and encourages external economies. Great financial centers enjoy a high degree of persistence but are not immune from decline and eventual demise. Yet, their achievements are passed along in a an evolutionary manner. In revisiting the historical record of seven international financial centers –Florence, Venice, Genoa, Antwerp, Amsterdam, London and New Yorku' the paper finds evidence of a long evolutionary chain of banking and finance. As to the present and the future, the forces of integration are likely to give an additional boost to the persistence of international financial centers.

Keywords: Amsterdam; Antwerp; Banking; Evolution; Finance; Florence; Genoa; London; Money; New York; Venice (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: G15 G21 H63 N20 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 37
Date: 2008-10
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dev, nep-evo and nep-his
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http://docs.dises.univpm.it/web/quaderni/pdfmofir/Mofir006.pdf First version, 2008 (application/pdf)

Related works:
Chapter: The Evolutionary Chain of International Financial Centers (2009)
Working Paper: The Evolutionary Chain of International Financial Centers (2007)
Working Paper: The Evolutionary Chain of International Financial Centers (2007)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:anc:wmofir:6

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