Table of Contents

Introduction; 1. The age of private bankers, 1780–1840; 2. The concentration of capital, 1840–1875; 3. A globalised world, 1875–1914; 4. Wars and depression, 1914–1945; 5. Growth and regulation, 1945–1980; 6. Globalisation, innovation and crisis, 1980–2009; Conclusion; Glossary.

Promotional Information

The first comparative history of the major international financial centres from New York to Tokyo.

About the Author

Youssef Cassis is Professor of Economic and Social History at the University of Geneva. His work mainly focuses on banking and financial history, as well as business history more generally. His numerous publications on this subject include City Bankers 1890–1914 (1994) and Big Business: The European Experience in the Twentieth Century (1997).

Reviews

'In Capitals of Capital Youssef Cassis vividly explains and compares the roles of major international financial centres in creating and sustaining our current global economy. The great centres - London, New York, Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin and Frankfurt, Tokyo, and others - rise, decline, and rejuvenate. They compete and cooperate to pool the world's financial resources and distribute them to finance trade and investment within and among nations. Institutions and personalities of course did the work, and Cassis gives the great banks and bankers, markets, and stock exchanges due attention. The book brilliantly demonstrates that much of modern history can be brought into focus through the lens of international financial center development.' Richard Sylla, Stern School of Business 'A dizzying and masterful narrative of the ever-changing fate of financial centres. Combining big trends and small but exciting details, Youssef Cassis connects the dots from the decline of Amsterdam in the late 18th century to globalization in the early 21st century. How did Hong Kong and Singapore emerge as world-class financial centres? Why did Berlin dislodge Frankfurt as Germany's top financial spot in the 1870s? All of that, and much, much more is explained in detail in this book that economists, historians and just about everyone interested in international finance will enjoy reading.' Charles Wyplosz, Graduate Institute of International Studies, Geneva 'Youssef Cassis has presented a masterful historical profile of international financial centers. The book is a triumph.' Mira Wilkins, Florida International University 'Capitals of Capital is the landmark achievement of a renowned comparative historian. Although the main individual international financial centres have had their histories written, there has long been a need for an authoritative, comprehensive overview of the fluctuating and often entwined fortunes of the rival centres. Youssef Cassis not only dispassionately tells that story over the last two and a quarter centuries, but also gives us much to ponder about the future as we move ever further into a post-industrial age.' David Kynaston, author of The City of London 'Professor Cassis, with the help of his translator, has written a first class book; one that can, thanks in no small part to the comprehensive glossary, be read by the non-specialist.' Open History '... useful reading for anyone interested in the antecedents of today's vibrant international financial markets.' Foreign Affairs 'This is a truly scholarly work of synthesis ... the breadth, scope and detail of the study must recommend it to scholars and students seeking an overview of the development of international financial and banking markets over the past two hundred years.' Catherine R. Schenk, EH.NET 'The present volume is an admirable, indeed indispensable account of how the capitals of capital evolved over more than two centuries - a contest that continues today in perhaps more granular and nuanced form ... As modern academic offerings encompassing a solid dose of financial history are designed, Capitals of Capital will surely command a prominent place on reading lists.' Journal of International Economics 'It is difficult to do justice to the scope of the book in this brief review ... in presenting a complex story in a readable and accessible narrative, Cassis performs a valuable service to the business historian.' Enterprise and Society 'Anyone interested in the historical background of the world's most important international financial centers will prize this book enormously.' Journal of Interdisciplinary History