Coffman, D;
Stephenson, JZ;
Sussman, N;
(2020)
Financing the rebuilding of the City of London after the Great Fire of 1666.
(CEPR Discussion Paper
DP15471).
Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR): London, UK.
Text
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Abstract
This paper presents new archival data to analyse how, in the absence of banking or capital market finance, the London Corporation funded the rebuilding of London after the Great Fire of 1666. The City borrowed at rates much lower than previously thought from its citizens and outside investors to replace vital services and to support large improvement works. Borrowing was partly secured on its' reputation and partly secured by future coal tax receipts. Although records show that the funding from these sources was forthcoming and would have covered costs, and most of the rebuilding project was completed in less than a decade, having invested in public goods without generating the expected fiscal flows, the City defaulted in 1683.
Type: | Working / discussion paper |
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Title: | Financing the rebuilding of the City of London after the Great Fire of 1666 |
Publisher version: | https://cepr.org/active/publications/discussion_pa... |
Language: | English |
Additional information: | This version is the version of record. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. |
Keywords: | England, Financial Development, Financial Intermediation, growth, interest rate |
UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of the Built Environment UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of the Built Environment > The Bartlett Sch of Const and Proj Mgt |
URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10118033 |
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