We describe how, during the 17th century, the business corporation gradually emerged in response to the need to lock in long-term capital to profit from trade opportunities with Asia. Since contractual commitments to lock in capital were not fully enforceable in partnerships, this evolution...

Recently, a growing body of work on "law and finance" and "legal origins" has highlighted the role of formal legal institutions in shaping financial institutions. However, these writings have focused largely on Europe, neglecting important non-Western traditions that prevail in a large part of...

Intro -- Contents -- List of Figures -- List of Tables -- Contributors -- 1. Law and Long-Term Economic Change: An Editorial Introduction -- 2. The Evolution of Law: Political Foundations of Private Law in Medieval Europe and Japan -- 3. Law and Economy in Traditional China: A "Legal Origin"...