The Political Economy of Expulsion: The Regulation of Jewish Moneylending in Medieval England

32 Pages Posted: 2 May 2011

See all articles by Mark Koyama

Mark Koyama

George Mason University - Department of Economics; George Mason University - Mercatus Center

Date Written: January 1, 2010

Abstract

This paper develops an analytic narrative examining an institution known as "The Exchequer of the Jewry". The prohibition on usury resulted in most moneylending activities being concentrated within the Jewish community. The king set up the Exchequer of the Jewry in order to extract these monopoly profits. This institution lasted for almost one hundred years but collapsed during the second part of the thirteenth century. This collapse resulted in the expulsion of the Anglo-Jewish population. This paper provides a rational choice account of the institutional trajectory of the Exchequer of the Jewry. This account explains why it ultimately failed to provide a suitable framework for the development of capital markets in medieval England.

Keywords: Taxation, Usury, Rent Creation, Parliament

Suggested Citation

Koyama, Mark, The Political Economy of Expulsion: The Regulation of Jewish Moneylending in Medieval England (January 1, 2010). Constitutional Political Economy, Vol. 21, No. 4, pp. 374-406, 2010, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1829078

Mark Koyama (Contact Author)

George Mason University - Department of Economics ( email )

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HOME PAGE: http://mason.gmu.edu/~mkoyama2/About.html

George Mason University - Mercatus Center ( email )

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