Baring, Wellington and the Resurrection of French Public Finances Following Waterloo

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Universite Libre de Bruxelles; Universite de Picardie Jules Verne (UPJV); Universite de Picardie Jules Verne (UPJV)
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC HISTORY
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0022-0507
• DOI: 10.1017/S0022050714000862
• 发表日期: 2014
• 页码: 1072-1102
• 关键词: sovereign debt; revolution; 17th-century; GOVERNMENT; POLITICS; england; options; HISTORY; france; WAR

摘要

Following Waterloo, managing French public finances represented a daunting task as the country had lost a substantial part of its population and territory and had to pay huge amounts as reparations to the victors. Despite this, in just ten years, France managed to issue substantial amounts of debt with a spread, compared to the British consol, falling from more than 400 to 100 basis points. We argue that the Duke of Wellington was key in creating an environment in which Baring had an incentive to lend to France and all actors had an incentive to see French debts reimbursed.