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Does the law and finance hypothesis pass the test of history?

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  • Aldo Musacchio
  • John D. Turner

Abstract

For the body of work known as the law and finance literature, the development of financial markets and the concentration of ownership across countries is to a large extent the consequence of the legal system nations created or inherited decades or hundreds of years ago. Despite the seemingly historical nature of this explanation, most of the body of work supporting the law and finance hypothesis has been ahistorical. This paper summarises the business history literature and provides evidence on investor protection and financial development over the long run that challenges the main tenets of the law and finance literature.

Suggested Citation

  • Aldo Musacchio & John D. Turner, 2013. "Does the law and finance hypothesis pass the test of history?," Business History, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 55(4), pages 524-542, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:bushst:v:55:y:2013:i:4:p:524-542
    DOI: 10.1080/00076791.2012.741976
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Stanley L. Engerman & Kenneth Lee Sokoloff, 2002. "Factor Endowments, Inequality, and Paths of Development Among New World Economies," Economía Journal, The Latin American and Caribbean Economic Association - LACEA, vol. 0(Fall 2002), pages 41-110, August.
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    Cited by:

    1. Jean-Pascal Bassino & Thomas Lagoarde-Segot, 2015. "Informational efficiency in the Tokyo Stock Exchange, 1931–40," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 68(4), pages 1226-1249, November.
    2. Rochat, Jean, 2017. "Les origines de la société anonyme en France: un cas pour penser les institutions de l'économie," Working Papers unige:94467, University of Geneva, Paul Bairoch Institute of Economic History.
    3. James Foreman-Peck & Leslie Hannah, 2015. "The diffusion and impact of the corporation in 1910," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 68(3), pages 962-984, August.
    4. Turner, John D., 2014. "Financial history and financial economics," QUCEH Working Paper Series 14-03, Queen's University Belfast, Queen's University Centre for Economic History.
    5. Monnet, Eric & Velde, François R., 2020. "Money, Banking, and Old-School Historical Economics," CEPR Discussion Papers 15348, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    6. Turner, John D., 2017. "The development of English company law before 1900," QUCEH Working Paper Series 2017-01, Queen's University Belfast, Queen's University Centre for Economic History.
    7. le Bris, David, 2019. "Testing legal origins theory within France: Customary laws versus Roman code," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(1), pages 1-30.
    8. David Chambers & Carsten Burhop & Brian Cheffins, 2016. "The Rise and Fall of the German Stock Market, 1870-1938," Working Papers 25, Department of Economic and Social History at the University of Cambridge, revised 21 Sep 2016.
    9. Hannah, Leslie & Kasuya, Makoto, 2015. "Twentieth century enterprise forms: Japan in comparative perspective," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 64489, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    10. Grant Fleming & Zhangxin (Frank) Liu & David Merrett & Simon Ville, 2021. "Underpricing in a developing capital market: Australian equity issuances, 1920–39†," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 74(3), pages 831-855, August.
    11. Cihan Artunç & Mohamed Saleh, 2024. "The demand for extraterritoriality: Religious minorities in nineteenth‐century Egypt," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 77(3), pages 895-927, August.
    12. Turner, John D., 2024. "Three centuries of corporate governance in the UK," QUCEH Working Paper Series 24-01, Queen's University Belfast, Queen's University Centre for Economic History.
    13. Timothy W Guinnane & Susana Mart�nez-Rodr�guez, 2018. "Choice of Enterprise Form: Spain, 1886–1936," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 34(1), pages 1-26.
    14. Carsten Burhop & Sibylle Lehmann-Hasemeyer, 2016. "The Berlin stock exchange and the geography of German stock markets in 1913," European Review of Economic History, European Historical Economics Society, vol. 20(4), pages 429-451.
    15. Rochat, Jean, 2016. "Change for continuity: the making of the société anonyme in 19th century france," Working Papers unige:90196, University of Geneva, Paul Bairoch Institute of Economic History.
    16. HANNAH, Leslie, 2018. "Corporate Governance, Accounting Transparency and Stock Exchange Sizes in Germany, Japan and “Anglo-Saxon” Economies, 1870-1950," Discussion paper series HIAS-E-77, Hitotsubashi Institute for Advanced Study, Hitotsubashi University.
    17. Cihan Artunç, 2024. "Legal origins of corporate governance: Choice of law in Egypt, 1887–1914," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 77(1), pages 3-40, February.
    18. Poukens, Johan, 2020. "Disclosure and publication of information on the governance and ownership of joint-stock corporations in Europe (19th-early 20th centuries)," IBF Paper Series 05-20, IBF – Institut für Bank- und Finanzgeschichte / Institute for Banking and Financial History, Frankfurt am Main.
    19. Coyle, Christopher & Musacchio, Aldo & Turner, John D., 2019. "Law and finance in Britain c.1900," Financial History Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 26(3), pages 267-293, December.
    20. Sebastian A.J. Keibek, 2016. "Using probate data to determine historical male occupational structures," Working Papers 26, Department of Economic and Social History at the University of Cambridge, revised 21 Mar 2017.
    21. Janette Rutterford & Dimitris P. Sotiropoulos & Carry van Lieshout, 2017. "Individual investors and local bias in the UK, 1870–1935," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 70(4), pages 1291-1320, November.
    22. Giovanni Dosi & Valérie Revest & Alessandro Sapio, 2016. "Financial regimes, financialization patterns and industrial performances : preliminary remarks," Post-Print halshs-01418040, HAL.
    23. Grant Fleming & Frank Liu & David Merrett & Simon Ville, 2021. "The Australian corporate bond market before credit ratings, 1915-83," CEH Discussion Papers 03, Centre for Economic History, Research School of Economics, Australian National University.

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