Mercantilist Origins of the Corporation: Comment
Volume: Volume 14, No. 1
Issue: Spring 1983
Pages: pp. 294-297
Authors: Paul J. McNulty and Giulio Pontecorvo
Title: Mercantilist Origins of the Corporation: Comment
Abstract: In an earlier article, Ekelund and Tollison offered a "supply-side" hypothesis for the origins of the corporation. Their emphasis was on the advantages that readily transferable property rights held for the owner-managers of the early corporations. The purpose of this comment is to suggest that other economic groups gained from the institution of share transferability and that their influence in the development of the capital markets should not be overlooked. We also point to some noneconomic motives on the part of some investors, motives which nonetheless helped to develop the capital markets and the corporate form.
JEL Classification
Economic History Europe General (0440)
Capitalist Economic Systems: Market Economies (0510)