Banking as an Emerging Technology: Hoare's Bank 1702-1742

41 Pages Posted: 12 Jan 2004

See all articles by Hans-Joachim Voth

Hans-Joachim Voth

University of Zurich - UBS International Center of Economics in Society; Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

Peter Temin

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - Department of Economics; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Date Written: December 4, 2003

Abstract

Analysis of the financial revolution in England has often focused on changes in public debt management and the interest rates paid by the state. Much less is known about the evolution of the financial system providing credit to individual borrowers. We document the transition from goldsmith to banker in the case of Richard Hoare, and examine the operation of the loan market during the early eighteenth century. Learning how to use the relatively new technology of deposit banking was crucial for the bank's success and survival. Innovation during the early stages of the British Industrial Revolution was not limited to manufacturing and transport, but played a critical role also in the service sector.

Keywords: Banking and credit, English Industrial Revolution, interest rate determination, credit rationing, technological change and learning

JEL Classification: G21, N23, N83, O16, O31

Suggested Citation

Voth, Hans-Joachim and Temin, Peter, Banking as an Emerging Technology: Hoare's Bank 1702-1742 (December 4, 2003). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=485444 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.485444

Hans-Joachim Voth

University of Zurich - UBS International Center of Economics in Society ( email )

Raemistrasse 71
Zuerich, 8006
Switzerland

Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

London
United Kingdom

Peter Temin (Contact Author)

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - Department of Economics ( email )

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E52-280a
Cambridge, MA 02142
United States
617-253-3126 (Phone)
617-253-6915 (Fax)

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

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United States

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