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Two is Company, N is a Crowd? Merchant Guilds and Social Capital

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  • Dessi, Roberta
  • Piccolo, Salvatore

Abstract

We develop a theory of the emergence of merchant guilds as an efficient mechanism to foster cooperation between merchants and rulers, building on the natural complementarity between merchants’ market trading and mutual monitoring. Unlike existing models, we focus on local merchant guilds, rather than alien guilds, accounting for the main observed features of their behavior, internal organization and relationship with rulers. Our model delivers novel predictions about guilds’ size, membership restrictions, and their welfare implications. Moreover, it identifies the main channels through which the guilds’ social capital influenced their ability to cooperate effectively with rulers. As we argue, the available historical evidence offers support for our theory. We also extend the model to analyze the key trade-offs faced by rulers in choosing whether to grant recognition to one or multiple guilds. This provides a rationale for the establishment of both local and alien merchant guilds, helping us to understand the observed distribution of guilds and their characteristics.

Suggested Citation

  • Dessi, Roberta & Piccolo, Salvatore, 2009. "Two is Company, N is a Crowd? Merchant Guilds and Social Capital," TSE Working Papers 09-059, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE), revised Jun 2013.
    • Handle: RePEc:tse:wpaper:21928
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    Cited by:

    1. Charles Angelucci & Simone Meraglia, 2015. "Trade, Law and Order, and Political Liberties: Theory and Application to English Medieval Boroughs," Discussion Papers 1509, University of Exeter, Department of Economics.
    2. Angelucci, Charles & Meraglia, Simone, 2013. "Trade, Self-Governance,and the Provision of Law and Order, with an Application To Medieval English Chartered Towns," TSE Working Papers 13-443, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE).

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • H2 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue
    • L4 - Industrial Organization - - Antitrust Issues and Policies
    • N4 - Economic History - - Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation

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