This file is part of IDEAS, which uses RePEc data


[ Papers | Articles | Software | Books | Chapters | Authors | Institutions | JEL Classification | NEP reports | Search | New papers by email | Author registration | Rankings | Volunteers | FAQ | Blog | Help! ]

Prodigals and Projecture: An Economic History of Usury Laws in the United States from Colonial Times to 1900

Author info | Abstract | Publisher info | Download info | Related research | Statistics
Author Info
Hugh Rockoff
Abstract

During the Colonial era usury laws in the United States were strict both in terms of the maximum rate that could be charged and the penalties that would be imposed. In Massachusetts in eighteenth century, for example, the maximum rate was 6 percent, and both principal and interest were forfeited if usury could be proved against the lender. The laws were eased during the early national period, and in many states they were repealed, although the United States never completely abandoned its system of usury laws. By 1870, when a limited reaction set in, the liberalization had reached the point where the great bulk of commercial transactions must have been largely unaffected by the usury laws, at least in non-crisis years. Two factors seem to have been paramount in producing the liberalization: changes in ideas about the effectiveness of government regulation in general and about the effectiveness of usury laws in particular, and competition among the states for capital. This history suggests that the usury laws, when tightly drawn, may have had a larger impact than economic historians have generally recognized.

Download Info
To download:

If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. Information about this may be contained in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.

File URL: http://www.nber.org/papers/w9742.pdf
File Format: application/pdf
File Function:
Download Restriction: Access to the full text is generally limited to series subscribers, however if the top level domain of the client browser is in a developing country or transition economy free access is provided. More information about subscriptions and free access is available at http://www.nber.org/wwphelp.html.

As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version under "Related research" (further below) or search for a different version of it.

Publisher Info
Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number 9742.

Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML (with abstract), plain text (with abstract), BibTeX, RIS (EndNote, RefMan, ProCite), ReDIF
Length:
Date of creation: Jun 2003
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:9742

Note: DAE
Contact details of provider:
Postal: National Bureau of Economic Research, 1050 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, MA 02138, U.S.A.
Phone: 617-868-3900
Email:
Web page: http://www.nber.org
More information through EDIRC

For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its listing, contact: ().

Related research
Keywords:

Find related papers by JEL classification:
N2 - Economic History - - Financial Markets and Institutions

This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Jadlow, Joseph M, 1977. "Adam Smith on Usury Laws," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 32(4), pages 1195-1200, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. John H. Munro, 2001. "The Origins of the Modern Financial Revolution: Responses to Impediments from Church and State in Western Europe, 1200 - 1600," Working Papers munro-01-02, University of Toronto, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  3. Donna M. Kish-Goodling, 1998. "Using The Merchant of Venice in Teaching Monetary Economics," Journal of Economic Education, Helen Dwight Reid Foundation, vol. 29(4), pages 330-339. [Downloadable!]
  4. Eichengreen, Barry, 1984. "Mortgage Interest Rates in the Populist Era," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 74(5), pages 995-1015, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Howard Bodenhorn & Hugh Rockoff, 1992. "Regional Interest Rates in Antebellum America," NBER Chapters, in: Strategic Factors in Nineteenth Century American Economic History: A Volume to Honor Robert W. Fogel, pages 159-187 National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!]
  6. Snowden, Kenneth A., 1987. "Mortgage Rates and American Capital Market Development in the Late Nineteenth Century," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 47(03), pages 671-691, September. [Downloadable!]
  7. Stiglitz, Joseph E & Weiss, Andrew, 1981. "Credit Rationing in Markets with Imperfect Information," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 71(3), pages 393-410, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Samuel Rezneck, 1950. "Distress, Relief, and Discontent in the United States during the Depression of 1873-78," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 58, pages 494. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. Rudolph C. Blitz & Millard F. Long, 1965. "The Economics of Usury Regulation," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 73, pages 608. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  10. Eugene White, 1999. "California Banking in the Nineteenth Century: The Art and Method of the Bank of A. Levy," Departmental Working Papers 199905, Rutgers University, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
Full references

Statistics
Access and download statistics

Did you know? You too can volunteer for RePEc, for example by encouraging others to register as authors.

This page was last updated on 2009-11-7.

This information is provided to you by IDEAS at the Department of Economics, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Connecticut using RePEc data on a server sponsored by the Society for Economic Dynamics.