Mobilizing Money: How the World's Richest Nations Financed Industrial Growth

This book examines the origins of modern corporate finance systems during the rapid industrialization period leading up to World War I; leading to three sets of conclusions. First, modern financial systems are rooted in the past, are idiosyncratic to specific countries and are highly path-dependent. Therefore, to understand current financial institutions, we must take stock of the forces at play in the near and distant past. Second, financial institutions and markets do not create economic ...