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Bonds and Brands: Lessons from the 1820s

Author

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  • Flandreau, Marc
  • Flores, Juan
  • Gaillard, Norbert

Abstract

How does sovereign debt emerge and become sustainable? This paper provides a new answer to this unsolved puzzle. Focusing on the early 19th century, we argue that intermediaries' market power served to overcome information asymmetries and sustained the development of sovereign debt. Relying on insights from corporate finance, we argue that capitalists turned to intermediaries' reputations to guide their investment strategies. The outcome was a two-tier global bond market, which was sustained by hierarchical relations among intermediaries. This novel theoretical perspective is backed by new archival evidence and empirical data that have never been gathered so far.

Suggested Citation

  • Flandreau, Marc & Flores, Juan & Gaillard, Norbert, 2007. "Bonds and Brands: Lessons from the 1820s," CEPR Discussion Papers 6420, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:6420
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Sebastián Nieto-Parra, 2009. "Who Saw Sovereign Debt Crises Coming?," Economía Journal, The Latin American and Caribbean Economic Association - LACEA, vol. 0(Fall 2009), pages 125-169, August.
    2. Flandreau, Marc & Zumer, Frederic & Accominotti, Olivier & Rezzik, Riad, 2008. "Black Man?s Burden: Measured Philanthropy in the British Empire, 1880-1913," CEPR Discussion Papers 6811, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Contagion; Intermediaries; Ipo;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G15 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - International Financial Markets
    • G23 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Non-bank Financial Institutions; Financial Instruments; Institutional Investors
    • N23 - Economic History - - Financial Markets and Institutions - - - Europe: Pre-1913
    • N26 - Economic History - - Financial Markets and Institutions - - - Latin America; Caribbean

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