The Emergence of the Corporate Form

Enrico Perotti, Oscar Gelderblom, Giuseppe Dari-Mattiacci and Joost Jonker

No 11062, CEPR Discussion Papers from C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers

Abstract: We describe how the business corporation gradually emerged in the 17th century in response to the need to lock in long-term capital to profit from trade opportunities with Asia. Since contractual commitments to lock in capital were not fully enforceable in partnerships, this evolution required a legal innovation, essentially granting the corporation a property right over capital. Locked-in capital exposed investors to a significant loss of control, and could only emerge where and when political institutions limited the risk of expropriation. The Dutch East India Company (VOC, chartered in 1602) benefited from the restrained executive power of the Dutch Republic and was the first business corporation with permanent capital. The English East India Company (EIC, chartered in 1600) kept the traditional cycle of liquidation and refinancing until, in 1657, the English Civil War put the crown under strong parliamentary control. We show how the time advantage in the organizational form had a profound effect on the ability of the two companies to make long-term investments and consequently on their relative performance, ensuring a Dutch head start in Asian trade that persisted for two centuries. We also show how other features of the corporate form emerged progressively once the capital became permanent.

Keywords: Capital lock in; Corporate form; Institutional development; Legal innovation; Limited liability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: G30 K22 N24 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-his, nep-law and nep-sea
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Journal Article: The Emergence of the Corporate Form (2017)
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