A History of Interest Rates

A History of Interest Rates presents a very readable account of interest rate trends and lending practices over four millennia of economic history. Despite the paucity of data prior to the Industrial Revolution, authors Homer and Sylla provide a highly detailed analysis of money markets and borrowing practices in major economies. Underlying the analysis is their assertion that "the free market long-term rates of interest for any industrial nation, properly charted, provide a sort of fever chart of the economic and political health of that nation." Given the enormous volatility of rates in the 20th century, this implies we're living in age of political and economic excesses that are reflected in massive interest rate swings. Gain more insight into this assertion by ordering a copy of this book today.

Foreword by Dr. Henry Kaufman vii

Preface to the Fourth Edition ix

Summary Tables xiii

Summary Charts xvii

Introduction 1

Part One. Ancient Times

Chapter

1. Prehistoric and Primitive Credit and Interest 17

2. Mesopotamia: Sumer, Babylonia, and Assyria 25

3. Greece 32

4. Rome 44

5. A Summary and Analysis of Ancient Interest Rates 57

Part Two. Medieval and Renaissance Europe6. Usury Doctrines and Their Effect on European Credit Forms and Interest 67

7. The Dark Ages 80

8. Late Medieval Times 87

9. The Renaissance 102

10. A Summary and Analysis of Medieval and Renaissance Interest Rates in Western Europe 132

Part Three. Modern Europe and North America to 1900

11. England in the Eighteenth Century 145

12. Europe in the Eighteenth Century 164

13. England in the Nineteenth Century 178

14. France in the Nineteenth Century 213

15. Other European Countries in the Nineteenth Century 230

16. The United States in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries 270

Part Four. Europe and North America Since 1900

17. The United States in the Twentieth Century: 1900–1945 329

18. The United States in the Twentieth Century: 1946–1990 366

19. England in the Twentieth Century 437

20. Europe in the Twentieth Century: France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Italy 462

21. Europe in the Twentieth Century: Switzerland, Austria, Scandinavia, Ireland, Iberia, and Turkey 523

22. Canada in the Twentieth Century 545

23. Summary and Analysis of Interest Rates in Europe and North America Since 1700 554

Part Five. Other Countries and the 1990’s24. Japan 575

25. The Old Sterling Area: Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, and Pakistan 586

26. Russia 598

27. China 613

28. Latin America 626

29. Turn of the Millennium: 1990–2005 642

Notes 673

Index 693

SIDNEY HOMER, who died in 1983, was a limited partner in Salomon Brothers and was the general partner in charge of the firm's bond market research department. He is best known for his pioneering and analytical works of bond market history and the economic forces that drive bond market trends.

RICHARD SYLLA is Henry Kaufman Professor of the History of Financial Institutions and Markets and a Professor of Economics, Entrepreneurship, and Innovation at NYU's Stern School of Business. He is a past president of the Economic History Association and is a trustee of the Museum of American Financial History.

The late Sidney Homer published the First Edition of A History of Interest Rates in 1963—a time when interest rates weren't making front-page news—because he believed that a comprehensive history of this universal and basic economic and commercial price was necessary. More than forty years later, A History of Interest Rates has become a classic in the fields of economics and finance.

A History of Interest Rates, Fourth Edition presents a readable account of interest rate trends and lending practices spanning over four millennia of economic history. Filled with in-depth insights and illustrative charts and tables, this unique resource provides a broad perspective on interest rate movements—from which financial professionals can evaluate contemporary interest rate and monetary developments—and applies analytical tools, such as yield-curve averaging and decennial averaging, to the data available.

A History of Interest Rates, Fourth Edition offers a highly detailed analysis of money markets and borrowing practices in major economies. It places the rates and corresponding credit forms in context by summarizing the political and economic events and financial customs of particular times and places, including:

• Ancient Times: Mesopotamia, Greece, and Rome
• Medieval Times and Renaissance Europe: Italy, Spain, Germany, France, and more
• Modern Europe and North America to 1900: England, France, and other European countries, as well as the United States
• Europe and North America since 1900: England, France, Germany, and Italy, as well as Canada and the United States
• Other countries and regions in the 1900s: Japan, Russia, China, and Latin America

Much has transpired in the financial world since the last edition of A History of Interest Rates was published. New credit instruments have been introduced, the volume of outstanding fixed-income obligations has exploded, and capital now moves across the globe quicker than ever before. To help you stay as current as possible, this revised and updated Fourth Edition contains a new chapter of contemporary material as well as added discussions of interest rate developments over the past ten years.

Interest rates in the twenty-first century are as much a subject of political and economic controversy as they were in antiquity. Today, they even provide a trail of clues into a nation's economic, political, and financial market health. With A History of Interest Rates, Fourth Edition as your guide, you'll discover just how important interest rates have always been and how you can take advantage of the information embedded within them.

A History of INTEREST RATES

The late Sidney Homer published the First Edition of A History of Interest Rates in 1963 because he believed that a comprehensive history of this universal and basic economic and commercial price was necessary. Now in its Fourth Edition, A History of Interest Rates has become a classic in the fields of economics and finance.

This one-of-a-kind guide presents a readable account of interest rate trends and lending practices spanning over four millennia of economic history. Filled with in-depth insights and illustrative charts and tables, this updated Fourth Edition provides a historical perspective of interest rate movements as well as a new chapter of contemporary material and added discussions of interest rate developments over the past ten years.

A sampling of eras and areas covered include:

• Ancient Times: Mesopotamia, Greece, and Rome
• Medieval Times and Renaissance Europe: Italy, Spain, Germany, France, and more
• Modern Europe and North America to 1900: England, France, and other European countries, as well as the United States
• Europe and North America since 1900: England, France, Germany, and Italy, as well as Canada and the United States
• Other countries and regions in the 1900s: Japan, Russia, China, and Latin America