The Agricultural Depression, Collegiate Finances, and Provision for Education at Oxford, 1871–1913

This article considers the agricultural depression of 1873–96, and its implications for college finances and educational provision at Oxford from 1871 to 1913. Most colleges' agricultural income decreased markedly in money terms, particularly between 1883 and 1893, but the depression's impact was unevenly spread across the colleges. A general fall in the cost of living index mitigated the colleges' loss of income. No marked redistribution of income occurred. Collegiate contributions to the university proved less than anticipated and consequently university teaching, including scientific education, suffered.     

Monetization and the behavior of velocity in Sweden, 1871–1913

The income velocity of money declined sharply in Sweden between the 1870's and the outbreak of World War I. This decline is explained by a monetization process. An account of this process is given focusing on (a) the growth of commercial banking, (b) changes in wage contracts and in labor markets, and (c) changes in exchange arrangements in the markets for goods. A number of proxy measures of the spreading use of money are presented and included in regressions on velocity. The influence of the monetization variables is compared to the effects of the standard explanatory variables in money demand studies, that is, of real income and interest rates. The econometric results support the view that monetization variables significantly contributed to the fall in velocity. These results question the luxury-good hypothesis of money, suggesting that the standard approach of including real income as an explanatory variable in money demand studies covering long spans of time runs the risk of ignoring important determinants of the secular behavior of velocity.     

Business fluctuations in Italy, 1861-1913: The new evidence

Band-pass filters and structural time-series models are applied to the new estimates of Italy’s domestic product from 1861 to 1913. These indicate a strong four-year cycle, derived from the agricultural sector, which curiously (and perhaps spuriously) vanishes after 30 years. Over the longer term GDP and the services reflect the long swing in industrial production, tied to the investment cycle. Agriculture seems marked instead by a further cycle of some 12-15 years, and also by a long wave related to the sector’s terms of trade.     

Intra- and international commodity market integration in the Atlantic economy, 1800-1913

In this paper, the course of intra- and international market integration in the nineteenth century Atlantic economy is investigated. The most fundamental contribution of the paper is in consistently sketching the course of commodity market integration over the long run. Additionally, this study suggests that the nineteenth century has been somewhat misread in terms of the development of markets as the evidence, especially on price convergence, points to dramatic improvements in intra- and international market integration in the years prior to the mid-century. A collective task for economic historians, then, is to link these developments with the revolutionary commercial and technological developments of the post-1850 period.     

Free or central banking? Liquidity and financial deepening in Sweden, 1834-1913

During Sweden’s nineteenth-century modernization, Enskilda banks contributed to economic expansion and integration by providing generally accepted means of payment beyond what would have been possible for the central bank, the Riksbank. The Riksbank was constrained by specie-convertibility requirements for Sweden’s currency. Contrary to previous arguments, however, the Enskilda banks did not operate according to free banking theory. The Enskilda banks held Riksbank notes instead of specie as base-money reserves. This arrangement led to a higher supply of formal liquidity than what would have been the case with either a free banking system or a pure deposit-based commercial banking system. The consequence for Sweden was a rapid rate of monetization and financial deepening.