财政压力、货币超发与明代宝钞制度

本文遵循“财政压力-政府行为”分析框架来剖析“大明宝钞”崩坏的制度根源。“大明宝钞”制度的崩坏根源于以财政为中心的宝钞制度设计缺陷。这种制度设计是为了满足政府财政开支需求与避免财政危机。易言之，明代财政压力促成了货币财政化的宝钞制度设计，导致了货币超发，最后致使宝钞崩坏并退出流通领域。财政压力是古今政府的常态。财政压力并非必然导致政府采取掠夺性的货币政策。在英国，国王的财政压力导致了以限制王权为目的的《大宪章》和“光荣革命”。明代中国，为何没有在财政压力之下走上制度变革之路，这个问题实在令人深思。

FINANCIAL PRESSURE, CURRENCY OVER-ISSUE AND THE SYSTEM OF THE MING NOTES

This paper followed the analysis framework of“financial pressures government conduct”to dissect the institutional roots of the collapse of the Ming Notes The collapse of the Ming Notes was rooted in system design flaws as the center of finance This system was designed to meet government expenditure requirements and to avoid financial crisis Other words, the financial pressures of the Ming led to system design flaws as the center of finance, currency over issuing Finally, the collapse of Ming Notes system resulted in the Ming Notes to be out of circulation Financial pressure was the norm in ancient and modern government Financial pressure did not necessarily lead to the government to take predatory monetary policy In the UK, the financial pressure of the King led to the Great Charter and the outbreak of the “glorious revolution” to limit the royal power In the Ming dynasty, this problem was thought provoking why not go onto the road of institutional change under financial pressure