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A Margin Note On Medieval Thought About Money And The Interest Rate

Author

Listed:
  • Stefano Figuera

    (Universita` di Catania, Dipartimento di Giurisprudenza, Catania)

Abstract

In the medieval period, the issue of interest was highly significant in economic discussion. Despite a shared vision of money, the Islamic world and Christian West in the late middle ages had different attitudes to the legitimacy of interest. This divergence has been interpreted by neo-Institutionalist theory in the light of the religious institutions’ power to influence the economic side of society. Conclusions differ if the analysis comes from a Veblenian Institutionalist perspective. This approach in fact shows that while in Christian Europe interest rate theory developed hand-in-hand with the unfolding of the multiple functions of money in a society gradually evolving towards capitalism and with the secularization of economics, in the Islamic West, partly due to a different development of the socio-economic fabric, there were contrasting outcomes both in the role played by monetary financial institutions and in the developments of theoretical thought.

Suggested Citation

  • Stefano Figuera, 2017. "A Margin Note On Medieval Thought About Money And The Interest Rate," Rivista Internazionale di Scienze Sociali, Vita e Pensiero, Pubblicazioni dell'Universita' Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, vol. 125(1), pages 43-65.
    • Handle: RePEc:vep:journl:y:2017:v:125:i:1:p:43-65
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Interest; Money; Islamic Economic Thought; Christian Economic Thought.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • B11 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought through 1925 - - - Preclassical (Ancient, Medieval, Mercantilist, Physiocratic)
    • B31 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought: Individuals - - - Individuals
    • E42 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Monetary Sytsems; Standards; Regimes; Government and the Monetary System

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