American stock market development and performance, 1871–1929

The American stock market played a central role in the allocation of investment funds during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. During the same period the market underwent profound institutional change. Tests of market efficiency are employed to characterize the market's performance, and to ascertain what specific institutional features affected that performance. The market receives mixed reviews. At no time was evidence of substantial market inefficiency apparent. However, money market instability before World War I, and the absence of federal regulation after 1900 did cause stock prices to wander modestly from their “efficient market” values. In both cases intervention by the federal government appears to have improved market performance.     

Integration between the London and New York Stock Exchanges, 1825–1925

In this article the integration between the London and New York Stock Exchanges is analysed during the era when they were still developing as asset markets. The domestic securities on both exchanges showed little sustained integration, even when controlling for the different characteristics of stocks, which implies that the pricing of securities in the US and UK was still being driven by local factors. These results place a limit on the view that the pre‐First World War period was the first era of globalization in terms of capital markets. However, there was considerable integration between New York and those listings on London that operated internationally. This suggests that the listing of foreign securities may be one of the primary mechanisms driving asset market integration.     

加强证券市场监管 促进证券市场健康发展

<正>证券监管是指一国的证券管理机关依法对证券经营机构和证券业活动所实施的规则和约束,目的是促使证券业依法稳健运行。证券监管权是基于政府的授权由证券主管机关对证券发行、证券交易等活动所享有的监督权和管理权。自从1992年美国发生股灾以来,世界范围内的证券监管演变为一种潮流。其中以美国为代表的若干国家更是建立了专门的证券监管机构,并赋予其     

Energy as an indicator of modernization in Latin America, 1890–1925

In the absence of comparable macroeconomic indicators for most of the Latin American economies before the 1930s, the apparent consumption of energy is used in this paper as a proxy of the degree of modernization of Latin America and the Caribbean. This paper presents an estimate of the apparent consumption per head of modern energies (coal, petroleum, and hydroelectricity) for 30 countries of the region, 1890 to 1925. As a result, it provides the basis for a quantitative comparative analysis of modernization performance beyond the few countries for which historical national accounts are available in Latin America.     

试析证券市场发展与证券法律制度完善

中国证券市场的发展时间只有一、二十年，但是发展速度与证券市场的规范制度不平衡，这反过来影响了证券市场的发展。由于上市公司、证券公司、中介机构等证券市场主体违法违规，给投资者造成损失得不到赔偿，就会影响股东尤其是中小股东对证券市场的信心，从而影响到这一直接融资场所的存亡：从整个证券市场的发展历史来看．证券市场既是投资场所，也是投机场所，存在高风险，必须进行法律规范，将其引向正确的发展轨道上来。     

The “teaching procession”? another look at teacher tenure, 1845–1925

Prior to the Great Depression the turnover rates of teachers, especially female and rural teachers, were very high. These high turnover rates have led historians to conclude that the average teacher was inexperienced and had little professional commitment. Here we examine direct evidence on teacher tenure. We find that the teacher the typical student was likely to encounter taught for more than five years in rural schools and practically a lifetime in the urban schools. Personal characteristics associated with stable job attachment in the modern era exerted a similar influence on the tenure of nineteenth-century teachers.     

Monetary Union, institutions and financial market integration: Italy, 1862–1905

Years into the single currency, EMU financial markets are not fully integrated. We argue that the phenomenon can be better understood by looking at financial markets’ behavior in the wake of Italy’s monetary unification (1862). Variables such as the spread of the telegraph, trade volumes, and the diffusion of the ‘single currency’ fail to explain why it took 25 years for prices across regional stock exchanges to converge. A single Italian financial market appeared only when the State prevailed upon local vested interests by enforcing nation-wide financial market legislation.     

规范证券市场,发展中国证券业

中国证券业经历了曲折的发展历程,持续低迷的证券市场,让每个关心中国证券业的人陷入深刻反思之中。本文以此为出发点,力求揭示我国证券业的发展现状与存在的问题,并提出我国证券业发展对策。     

A mirror of history: China's bond market, 1921–42

This article provides a quantitative assessment of contemporary beliefs about historical events by econometrically identifying ‘break points’ in China's domestic bond market from 1921 to 1942. We find that these ‘break points’ usually coincided with the events highlighted by the Shanghai Newspaper—an influential daily newspaper produced during the time of the Republic of China. These events are also generally considered to be crucial by historians—for example, the Japanese invasion of Manchuria and the outbreak of the Second Sino‐Japanese War. However, some events to which historians attach great importance, such as the conflicts between Nationalists and Communists in the 1930s, were not reflected in the bond market and did not attract much media attention. Some events, such as the Sino‐Japanese ceasefire in Tanggu in 1933, were thought to be crucial by contemporaries, but have been downplayed by later observers.     

The decline and fall of the European film industry: sunk costs,market size,and market structure, 1890–19271

In the 1900s, the European film industry exported throughout the world, at times supplying half the US market. By 1920, however, European films had virtually disappeared from America, and had become marginal in Europe. Theory on sunk costs and market structure suggests that an escalation of sunk costs during a rapid US growth phase resulted in increased concentration; eight surviving companies dominated international film production and distribution forever after. European film companies, although overall profitable, could not take part, and after the war could not catch up. US, British, and French time series data for 1890–1930 support the theory.     

Colonies,copper, and the market for inventive activity in England and Wales, 1680–1730

Between 1680 and 1730 the English and Welsh copper industry rose from the dead and by the mid‐eighteenth century it had become Europe's leading copper producer. The revival followed the extension of sugar cultivation in England's colonies and the creation of a strong new demand for copper, which was reflected in rising exports and rising prices. Buoyant demand created a favourable market for the inventive activity needed to cut costs in the native industry, which encouraged investment in a systematic programme of research and development and culminated in important breakthroughs in smelting and mining technologies which transformed the non‐ferrous metal industries. The story provides an insight into how the economic context shaped the way useful knowledge was produced and consumed. Colonial expansion not only provided England with additional resources overseas but also encouraged the reallocation of human and financial capital to make better use of slack resources at home. Empire and technical change intersected with positive consequences for economic growth.     

Investing in early public works: financial risks and returns in English and Welsh turnpikes, 1820–82

Private and local investors provided much of the capital to improve England's infrastructure during its industrialization. This study investigates the financial returns to investors in turnpike road trusts. It draws on parliamentary reports which provide comprehensive data on finances, including payments to bondholders. One key finding is that turnpike trusts paid their bondholders a return above the yield on government bonds before 1850. Afterwards turnpike interest payments declined, yet they still yielded competitive returns. Another key finding is that the risks were modest. Returns to holding individual turnpike bonds varied, with most paying 4 to 5 per cent and some paying zero. The latter were not the majority and in many cases interest payments resumed within a few years. Diversified portfolios of turnpike bonds enjoyed lower risks, and outperformed portfolios with railway and canal securities traded on the London exchange before 1850. Overall, the results contribute to a better understanding of the risks and returns associated with investing in early public works.     

Working‐class consumer credit in the UK, 1925–60: the role of the check trader1

This article provides fresh insights into working‐class credit by examining the history of check trading. It explains the system's origins, and its dependence on a series of relationships involving check traders and their agents, retailers, and customers. Data from the market leader— Provident Clothing and Supply Co. Ltd—is analysed to explore the scale and scope of the sector, and to examine its history from the early 1920s to the 1960s. Check trading was both an important and controversial supplier of credit to working‐class families, and the article explores criticisms of the system, and the reason for its popularity.     

我国证券市场改革发展的理念需要反思

一、我国证券市场运行的改革发展观念需要反思 众所周知，我国实行了几十年的计划经济体制。计划经济体制以行政指令为特征，在经济利益分配时坚持国家利益第一，集体利益第二，个人要服从国家利益集体利益的铁定原则。在对企业实行放权让利的改革时，这一原则才从各类教科书中删除。这里要强调的是：这一原则虽已不提，但其仍然根深蒂固地存在于一些官员的潜意识之中，经常惯性地涌动出来，造成不良后果。我国证券市场于1990年底建立，     

Lewis revisited: tropical polities competing on the world market, 1830–1938

Since the seminal work by W. A. Lewis, exports of primary products have been deemed the main or sole source of growth in tropical countries before the Great Depression. However, this conventional wisdom relies on very limited evidence. This article analyses the growth of exports with a constant market share analysis for 84 tropical polities. Exports grew a lot, but less than total trade, while relative prices of tropical products remained roughly constant. We thus tentatively infer that the decline in the tropical shares of world trade reflects an insufficient demand for tropical products. Asia dealt well with these headwinds throughout the whole period, while African polities blossomed after the First World War. The loser was (South) America, and most notably the Caribbean former slave colonies, especially before 1870.     

谈企业的社会责任

市场经济是一种经济形式 ,也是一种文化现象。对我国证券市场的反思表明 ,一方面 ,我们应尽快完善证券法规 ,加大执法力度 ;另一方面 ,决不能忽视证券行业的文化理念建设 :只有建立起内在的 ,以服务、诚信、合规为核心价值观的证券文化理念 ,才能从根本上促进我国证券市场的良