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States of Credit provides the first comprehensive look at the joint development of representative assemblies and public borrowing in Europe during the medieval and early modern eras. In this pioneering book, David Stasavage argues that unique advances in political representation allowed certain European states to gain early and advantageous access to credit, but the emergence of an active form of political representation itself depended on two underlying factors: compact geography and a strong mercantile presence. Stasavage shows that active representative assemblies were more likely to be sustained in geographically small polities. These assemblies, dominated by mercantile groups that lent to governments, were in turn more likely to preserve access to credit. Given these conditions, smaller European city-states, such as Genoa and Cologne, had an advantage over larger territorial states, including France and Castile, because mercantile elites structured political institutions in order to effectively monitor public credit. While creditor oversight of public funds became an asset for city-states in need of finance, Stasavage suggests that the long-run implications were more ambiguous. City-states with the best access to credit often had the most closed and oligarchic systems of representation, hindering their ability to accept new economic innovations. This eventually transformed certain city-states from economic dynamos into rentier republics. Exploring the links between representation and debt in medieval and early modern Europe, States of Credit contributes to broad debates about state formation and Europe's economic rise.

History of Europe --- Debts, Public --- Credit --- Middle Ages. --- Dettes publiques --- Crédit --- Moyen Age --- History --- Histoire --- Europe --- Politics and government. --- History. --- Politique et gouvernement --- EARLY MODERN ERAS -- 338.98 --- POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT -- 338.98 --- MIDDLE AGES -- 338.98 --- EUR / Europe - Europa --- 331.161.0 --- Geschiedenis van de overheidsfinanciën: agemeenheden. --- Crédit --- Middle Ages --- Dark Ages --- History, Medieval --- Medieval history --- Medieval period --- World history, Medieval --- World history --- Civilization, Medieval --- Medievalism --- Renaissance --- Debts, Government --- Government debts --- National debts --- Public debt --- Public debts --- Sovereign debt --- Debt --- Bonds --- Deficit financing --- Borrowing --- Finance --- Money --- Loans --- Geschiedenis van de overheidsfinanciën: agemeenheden --- Politics --- E-books --- Politics and government --- Carolingian Empire. --- Carolingian partition hypothesis. --- Castile. --- Cologne. --- Dutch Republic. --- Europe. --- France. --- Genoa. --- Holland. --- Italy. --- Low Countries. --- Rokkan/Tilly hypothesis. --- Siena. --- absolutism. --- borrowing. --- city-states. --- commitment problems. --- credit. --- debt. --- economic development. --- geographic scale. --- government finance. --- interest rates. --- merchant oligarchy. --- merchants. --- nominal rates. --- political control. --- political representation. --- polities. --- public borrowing. --- public credit. --- public debt. --- public finance. --- rentes sur l'Htel de Ville. --- representative assemblies. --- social conflict. --- soldiers. --- state formation. --- taxation. --- territorial states. --- war. --- Debts, Public - Europe - History --- Credit - Europe - History --- Europe - Politics and government --- Europe - History