OVERVIEW

The course in the history of finance in the modern age is divided into traditional lessons and lectures in which you carry out innovative teaching methods. The lessons provide knowledge on long-term and large-scale economic and social processes, highlighting the local and territorial articulations of these processes. Particular attention will be paid to the Genoese finance of the modern age and its innovative features.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The aim of the course is to offer students a critical understanding of the evolution of the financial market from the late Middle Ages to the second half of the nineteenth century. The different European money and credit markets will be analyzed - thanks to case studies and thematic lectures - always taking into consideration a historical approach that will allow to contextualize the various market problems in a "global" perspective. The national public debt and international payment systems will be presented in a "technical" language that will also use examples linked to our daily lives. Without neglecting classical historiography, the new lines of research will be presented, not only Italian but also international, to offer students a stimulating frame of reference in which to appreciate the dynamic development of the financial markets of Antico Regime and the nineteenth century.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

Knowledge

At the end of the course, the student will be able to:

- orientating space-time in the dynamics of finance in the modern age, understood in a global perspective;

- to recognize the stages of modern economic development as they have conditioned the evolution, both formal and substantial, of national economies and societies;

- distinguish the different factors, including those of the system, which have influenced the functioning of finance over time;

- understand, through historical knowledge, how to interpret change and appreciate the difference.

Ability to apply knowledge

At the end of the course, the student will be able to:

- face complex operational situations recognizing the need for a multicausal approach to problems;

- to approach the world of finance in the modern age, taking into account the historical and institutional context in which it is inserted;

- to take into consideration, in the various economic analysis activities, the importance of social, cultural and environmental variables, as they have evolved historically;

- identify systemic and sectoral strengths and weaknesses for the effective conduct of any economic initiative.

PREREQUISITES

The subject presupposes general knowledge of modern and contemporary history, as well as the knowledge of basic economic concepts.

TEACHING METHODS

Lectures with the use of slides to frame the discussion.

Lessons with the analysis of archival sources related to the history of finance.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

First part

 Europe, the commercial revolution and finance (XIII-XV centuries)

Currency and market economy; the origins of the bank and the issue of usury; the new forms of business, the lex mercatoria and the new accounting techniques

 Finance and territorial states (XVI-XVIII centuries)

Commercial companies; "revolutions" and financial crises: the tulip bubble, the failure of the Law system, the South Sea Bubble

The financing of the English industrialization process

The characteristics of the English industrialization process and the financing of companies; canals, railways and the stock market: the railwaymania; the banker of the world: the City at the end of the nineteenth century

4. The "second" industrialization and consolidation of modern financial systems:

Finance and second industrialization; market or banks ?: a taxonomy of financial systems

The cases of USA, Germany, Japan, Italy and France

Second part

1. The origins of modern public finance

Evolution of the forms of tax collection in pre-industrial European states. The credit problem. Origins and evolution of forms of public debt. The difficult affirmation of central banks. State and financial institutions from the ancien regime in the long '800.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

- MONETA, CREDITO E BANCHE IN EUROPA: UN MILLENNIO DI STORIA Dispense per il corso di Storia della moneta e della banca a cura di Giuseppe Felloni (2° edizione riveduta e corretta) Genova, Anno accademico 1999-2000 (reperibile online al sito http://www.giuseppefelloni.it/testi.php)

- Larry Neal, Storia della finanza internazionale: dalle origini a oggi, Bologna : Il mulino, 2017

- Massimo Fornasari, La banca, la borsa, lo Stato : una storia della finanza (secoli 13.-21.), Torino : Giappichelli, 2019

Other documentary material and archive sources to be analyzed in a laboratory way.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

LUCIANO MAFFI (President)

LUISA PICCINNO

MARINA ROMANI

LESSONS

LESSONS START

Classes begin on September 23, 2019

Monday Aula 1 [Balbi 2 - Palazzo Gio Francesco Balbi] dalle 13:00 alle 15:00

Tuesday Aula 7 [Balbi 2 - Palazzo Gio Francesco Balbi] dalle 09:00 alle 11:00

Thursday sala riunioni B [Albergo dei poveri] dalle 14:00 alle 16:00

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

The final exam, in oral form, is aimed at evaluating reasoning skills and analytical rigor with respect to the course contents. We also consider the ownership of acquired language and the communication skills possessed. The preparation correlates to the study of the indicated bibliography.

Exam schedule