Citation

Koyama M. Const. Polit. Econ. 2010; 21(4): 374-406.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, Center for Study of Public Choice, George Mason University, Publisher Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s10602-010-9087-3

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This paper develops an analytic narrative examining an institution known as 'The Exchequer of the Jewry'. The prohibition on usury resulted in most moneylending activities being concentrated within the Jewish community. The king set up the Exchequer of the Jewry in order to extract these monopoly profits. This institution lasted for almost 100 years but collapsed during the second part of the thirteenth century. This collapse resulted in the expulsion of the Anglo-Jewish population. This paper provides a rational choice account of the institutional trajectory of the Exchequer of the Jewry. This account explains why it ultimately failed to provide a suitable framework for the development of capital markets in medieval England.

Language: en