Merchants in Global Economic History: Intermediation, Information, Trust, and Exchange

In this book, Toshiaki Tamaki analyzes merchant and entrepreneurial from ancient times to the twenty-first century, arguing that these intermediaries drive global market expansion and institutional development, as they help to connect distant regions and reduce information asymmetry.

The book begins by framing global economic history through the lens of homo mobilis (the mobile human) and homo faber (the fabricating human). It argues that global trade cannot be understood fully without consi...