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- Title
Transaction costs, institutional change, and the emergence of a market economy in later Anglo Saxon England.
- Authors
Jones, S. R. H.
- Abstract
The article presents a general model of institutional change involving the market economy in eleventh century Anglo-Saxon England society. A quite different approach by D.C. North makes explicit use of economic theory in an attempt to understand the processes of institutional change. He maintains that the spread of price-making markets in medieval Europe was largely the result of a reduction in transaction costs that made market-based exchange more attractive than other allocative systems. Transaction costs fell as property rights became more clearly specified, as governments provided a framework of law and order conducive to orderly contracting, and as the use of money became more extensive. The spread of price-making markets bad profound implications for economic growth: not only did they contribute to the more efficient allocation of resources they also provided an incentive for producers to increase output. Yet although much research has focused on the emergence of markets and market towns, there is still link agreement as to why price-making markets emerged when they did.
- Subjects
MARKETS; ECONOMIC development; TRANSACTION costs; MONEY market; RESOURCE allocation; MARKET towns
- Publication
Economic History Review, 1993, Vol 46, Issue 4, p658
- ISSN
0013-0117
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.2307/2598252