Abstract
The bullion famine, manifested in chronic balance-of-payments deficits with the East, is widely cited as the cause of the great depression of the Renaissance. Adapting the monetary approach to the balance-of-payments model to the medieval commodity money setting this article shows that western Europe could not suffer a balance-of-payments deficit and bullion shortage simultaneously. New data show that it is unlikely that France suffered a shortage of silver from 1360 to 1415. Minting volumes diverged between regions according to economic fortunes. Excess silver stocks were likely hoarded rather than exported.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 126-154 |
Number of pages | 29 |
Journal | Journal of Economic History |
Volume | 58 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Mar 1998 |