Resource endowments and the problem of small change
Insights from two American mints, 1600–1700
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21604914 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jane Knodell (0000-0001-9140-6484, University of Vermont, corresponding author), Jane E Knodell, Catalina Vizcarra (0000-0002-6022-7501, University of Vermont, corresponding author), Catalina M Vizcarra |
| Year | 2021 |
| Volume | 28 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 344-363 |
| Publication date | 2021-12-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Financial History Review (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0968-5650 • E-ISSN: 1474-0052 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s0968565021000159 |
| OpenAlex | W3205688119 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 14 |
This article discusses historical evidence from the Potosi mint and Massachusetts Bay mint that illustrates the importance of the resource endowment (in this case silver) for the provision of small change. We show that the availability of silver was fundamental in shaping incentives. The relative scarcity of silver in Massachusetts Bay contributed to the small scale of the mint's operations, and implied that neither the monetary authority nor the mintmaster faced a significant tradeoff between drawing seigniorage from the mint and the production of small-denomination coins. In contrast, in the Viceroyalty of Peru, the abundance of silver, and the consequent large level of production of the mint's heavy peso coin, heightened the tradeoff between the fiscal and monetary objectives of the coinage. We suggest that these incentives negatively affected the production of fractionary coinage in the Peruvian viceroyalty, whereas in Massachusetts Bay the production of small-denomination coins was the norm
Agricultural economics · Bay · Economic shortage · Economics · Endowment · Geography · Incentive · Market economy · Microeconomics · Political science · Revenue · Scarcity · Seigniorage · Culture, Economy, and Development Studies · Historical Economic and Legal Thought · Historical Economic and Social Studies · Law · Finance
The New England Merchants in the Seventeenth Century
The Big Problem of Small Change
Money and Exchange in Europe and America, 1600–1775
From Silver to Cocaine
Deflation and the petty coinage problem in the late-medieval economy
The City-State of Boston
Corruption, Inefficiency, and Imperial Decline in the Seventeenth-Century Viceroyalty of Peru
Population, Money Supply, and the Velocity of Circulation in England, 1300-1700
Reconstruction of money supply over the long run
Crisis and Decline
Corruption in the Iberian Empires
| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0.67 |
| Citation span | 2023 - 2023 (1) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |