Work

Trading forward: The Paris Bourse in the nineteenth century

Year: 2017

Type: article

Abstract: Contrary to what law and finance theory would predict, the Paris Bourse was highly liquid at the turn of the twentieth century: the traded volumes amounted to four times the French GDP. This magnitude was mainly due to forward trading. The Bourse had developed as a forward market, despite a ban on forward transactions. The guild-like body running the Bourse played a key role in legitimizing and legalizing these operations, previously equated with gambling. The 1885 legalizing act initiated a new field of law (‘securities law’) and paved the way for the heyday of the Paris Bourse.

Source: Business History

DOI: 10.1080/00076791.2017.1316487

Authors: Paul Lagneau-Ymonet, Angelo Riva

Institutions: Université Paris Sciences et Lettres, Institut de Recherche Interdisciplinaire en Sciences Sociales, Université Paris Dauphine-PSL, European Business School Paris, Paris School of Economics

Language: English

Topic: Historical Economic and Social Studies

Subfield: Economics and Econometrics

Field: Economics, Econometrics and Finance

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: green