Safe assets play a critical role in an (y) economy. A safe asset is an asset that is (almost
always) valued at face value without expensive and prolonged analysis. By design, there is …

This article surveys the recent empirical literature on historical banking crises, defined as
events taking place before 1980. Advances in data collection and identification have …

This paper draws lessons on the central bank underpinnings of money from the rise and fall
of the Bank of Amsterdam (1609–1820). The Bank started out as a “stablecoin”: it issued …

Whoever wants to come to a good and sound conclusion must not make up his mind before
paying attention to all arguments, or (as the say goes)“bring the verdict to Senate from …

Ever since the financial crisis of 2008, doubts have been raised about the future of
capitalism. In this broad-ranging survey of financial capitalism from antiquity to the present …

What determines risk-bearing capacity and the amount of leverage in financial markets?
Using unique archival data on collateralized lending, we show that personal experience can …

Publicly owned or commissioned banks were common in Europe from the fifteenth century.
This survey argues that while the early public banks were characterized by great …

This paper studies how private information is incorporated into prices, using a unique setting
from the eighteenth century that is closer to stylized models of price discovery than modern …

Economic growth involves metamorphosis of the financial system. Forms of banks and bank
money change. These changes, if not addressed, leave the banking system vulnerable to …

A fiat money system was introduced in the seventeenth century by a prominent public bank
of the time, the Bank of Amsterdam. Employing data from the bank׳ s archives, we show that …