Advancement to Candidacy Presentation: “Credit for the Few - Modeling Segregated Capital Markets and Inequality in Early Renaissance Genoa”, James Stuart-Turner

Speaker

James Stuart-Turner, University of California, Santa Barbara 

Biography

James is a PhD candidate in the Department of Economics at the University of California, Santa Barbara. His primary research focus is macroeconomics, economic history and behavioral economics. His current research topics are related to credit markets in early renaissance Italy and the inequality implications of money lending. James holds an MA in Mathematics and Economics from the University of St. Andrews.

Event Details

James will be presenting his Advancement to Candidacy paper, “Credit for the Few - Modeling Segregated Capital Markets and Inequality in Early Renaissance Genoa”. To access the Advancement paper, you must have an active UCSB NetID and password.

Abstract and JEL Codes

During the early renaissance, there was a great deal of financial innovation across Italy including the establishment of one of the world’s first central banks in Genoa. While this financial innovation preceded enormous economic growth across the continent, initially the primary beneficiaries of much of this transformation were the wealthiest and most influential members of Italian society. In this paper, I examine the economic institutions in Genoa from 1520-1620, primarily focusing on the roles of Casa San Giorgio and the Mons Pietatis. I utilize a model, derived from the Aiyagari Heterogeneous Agent model, which describes the consumption/savings decisions of households facing the same segregated capital markets that were prevalent in Genoa at the time. The model also considers the role that government borrowing, and the market power of a lone central bank would have had on the interest rate and demand for credit. Finally, using economic data compiled from a variety of sources, I will calibrate this model in order to determine whether these new financial innovations contributed to greater wealth inequality during the early renaissance period.

JEL Codes: E13, E21, E22, N13, N23