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The Paris Financial Market in the 19th Century : an efficient multi - polar organisation ?

Author

Listed:
  • Pierre-Cyrille Hautcoeur

    (PJSE - Paris-Jourdan Sciences Economiques - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris sciences et lettres - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, PSE - Paris School of Economics - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris sciences et lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement)

  • Angelo Riva

    (IREBS - Institut de recherche de l'European Business School - EBS Paris - European Business School Paris)

Abstract

The literature in financial history usually considers London as the only centre of the late 19th century's financial globalization, and explains it at least in part by the efficient microstructure (organization) of the London Stock Exchange (LSE). The LSE is characterized as having been a little regulated market, where entry was easy both for traders and issuers [Michie (1998), Neal (2004), White (2006)]. The LSE microstructure is also considered as the natural and optimal one by much of the theoretical literature on stock markets, which argues that free entry decreases transaction costs and increases both liquidity and diversification, resulting in economies of scale attracting traders, issuers and buyers. Our paper tries to explain why the Paris Bourse was able to be so successful in spite of the supposedly inefficient monopoly and regulations that the State imposed it. We focus on the fact that the Paris market actually included several different market places: the Parquet (the official Bourse, organized by the agents de change), the Coulisse, the Marché libre, and inter-bank direct operations. We argue that this multi-polar organization, was efficient, relying on the specialization it allowed, and the complementarities it helped develop among markets. We incorporate in the discussion the recent theoretical literature that shows that no single market can satisfy the heterogeneous preferences of all issuers and investors, so that a multi-polar organization can be a superior solution. We demonstrate our claim by looking not only at the rules but also at the actual functioning of the Parquet thanks to its archives which we recently classified. These archives also allow us to build new statistical series which permit evaluating the performances of the Parquet during the 19th century: volumes traded, seat prices, transaction costs, and operational risks. If one supposes that the Parquet was the least efficient segment of the Parisian market, this will provide us with
(This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)

Suggested Citation

  • Pierre-Cyrille Hautcoeur & Angelo Riva, 2009. "The Paris Financial Market in the 19th Century : an efficient multi - polar organisation ?," Post-Print hal-00390438, HAL.
  • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-00390438
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Pierre-Cyrille Hautcoeur & Amir Rezaee & Angelo Riva, 2010. "How to regulate a financial market? The impact of the 1893-1898 regulatory reforms on the Paris Bourse," Working Papers halshs-00547470, HAL.
    2. Marx, Benjamin & Do, Quoc-Anh & Galbiati, Roberto & Ortiz Serrano, Miguel Angel, 2020. "J'Accuse! Antisemitism and Financial Markets in the time of the Dreyfus Affair," CEPR Discussion Papers 14826, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    3. Ledenyov, Dimitri O. & Ledenyov, Viktor O., 2013. "Some thoughts on accurate characterization of stock market indexes trends in conditions of nonlinear capital flows during electronic trading at stock exchanges in global capital markets," MPRA Paper 49921, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Paul Lagneau-Ymonet & Angelo Riva, 2018. "Trading forward: The Paris Bourse in the nineteenth century," Business History, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 60(2), pages 257-280, February.
    5. repec:hal:wpspec:info:hdl:2441/5stdfj99hg96f8n537oi1mkfo9 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/5stdfj99hg96f8n537oi1mkfo9 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Riva, Angelo & White, Eugene N., 2011. "Danger on the exchange: How counterparty risk was managed on the Paris exchange in the nineteenth century," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 48(4), pages 478-493.
    8. Sarah Cochrane, 2009. "Explaining London's Dominance in International Financial Services, 1870-1913," Economics Series Working Papers 455, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    9. repec:dau:papers:123456789/5052 is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Campbell, Gareth & Rogers, Meeghan & Turner, John D., 2016. "The rise and decline of the UK's provincial stock markets, 1869-1929," QUCEH Working Paper Series 2016-03, Queen's University Belfast, Queen's University Centre for Economic History.

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