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  3. Journal of Economic Literature
  4. December 2018
  5. Finance and Economic Development in the Very Long Run: A Review Essay

Finance and Economic Development in the Very Long Run: A Review Essay

  • Yongseok Shin
Journal of Economic Literature
vol. 56, no. 4, December 2018
(pp. 1577-86)
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Abstract

I review William N. Goetzmann's Money Changes Everything: How Finance Made Civilization Possible. This magnificent book offers insightful coverage of more than 5,000 years of human history under the theme of "how finance made civilization possible." I reinterpret its main hypotheses in the context of recent economic research on finance and development, and also compare them with other economic historians' views. I suggest that further examinations of the historical facts in the book could guide us in rethinking financial regulation.

Citation

Shin, Yongseok. 2018. "Finance and Economic Development in the Very Long Run: A Review Essay." Journal of Economic Literature, 56 (4): 1577-86. DOI: 10.1257/jel.20171407

Additional Materials

JEL Classification

  • E42 Monetary Systems; Standards; Regimes; Government and the Monetary System; Payment Systems
  • E44 Financial Markets and the Macroeconomy
  • G00 Financial Economics: General
  • N20 Economic History: Financial Markets and Institutions: General, International, or Comparative