Small money, big problems: how an investigation on small Latin American republics shaped the financial market for sovereign debt in the 19th century

Miranda, José Augusto Ribas

doi:10.1590/s2178-14942017000100004

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…This was expected to render data in prospectus more credible. Indeed, when asked about the economic logic underpinning the bill, Sheridan responded that if investors could 44 On the episode, see Flandreau (2016), Miranda (2017), andFlandreau andLegentilhomme (2021). 45 48 See Solicitors' Journal, 3 November 1877: "Where false or untrue in any material particular, the person willfully making such a false declaration would be deemed guilty of misdemeanor."…”

Section: Proof-of-stakementioning

confidence: 99%

Sovereign Collateral

Flandreau,

Pietrosanti,

Schuster

2024

J. Econ. Hist.

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Due to a dearth of data, nineteenth century lending to sovereign borrowers was a blind date. We argue this is the reason for collateral pledges found in contemporary lending covenants, which enabled not execution, but the production of reliable fiscal data. Lawyers injected collateral clauses in sovereign debt covenants to permit credible disclosure of hard-to-access tax data. The study foregrounds the importance of big law firms as financial intermediaries and information producers. It also contributes a new view on the role played by contracts in sovereign debt. “No [underwriting] firm can take precautions against the repudiation of a [sovereign] hypothecation.”—Thomas Baring, 1865

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Section: Proof-of-stakementioning

confidence: 99%

Sovereign Collateral

Flandreau,

Pietrosanti,

Schuster

2024

J. Econ. Hist.

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Cyberpunk Victoria: The credibility of computers and the first digital revolution, 1848–83

Flandreau

Legentilhomme

2021

The Economic History Review

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British capitalism was a knowledge economy that lived on reliable numerical information. We argue that human computers and the algorithms they used played a vital intermediation role and supported the growth of the British capital market, because they resolved digital information asymmetries. Given the lack of an archive for 'Cyberpunk Victoria', we demonstrate the computers' role as financial intermediaries by identifying their imprint on the production of data by a prominent numerical factory, the Investor's Monthly Manual, a companion publication of the Economist. Our study underscores the import of digital mechanization and the relevance of human cybernetics to the development of financial capitalism. K E Y W O R D Scomputers, financial regulation, interest rates, media, scandals 'Steampunk' is a retro-futuristic science fiction specialty that incorporates technology, politics, and aesthetics inspired by the nineteenth century. In The difference engine, a novel by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling that is credited with having popularized the genre, the authors imagine an alternative Victorian era sparked by successful implementation of Charles Babbage's computer, which would have left the drawing board where it remained in fact to be actually implemented, leading to the dawn of the information age, one century ahead of schedule. 1 In this article, we suggest that the nineteenth century did witness a numerical revolution and the birth of an early form of cybernetics, which have been thus far overlooked. Speaking of 'cybernetics' in the nineteenth century may seem strange to some and deserves an explanation. As we show, the digital 1 Gibson and Sterling, Difference engine.

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Small money, big problems: how an investigation on small Latin American republics shaped the financial market for sovereign debt in the 19th century

Cited by 2 publications

References 1 publication

Sovereign Collateral

Sovereign Collateral

Cyberpunk Victoria: The credibility of computers and the first digital revolution, 1848–83

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