There is now a considerable body of theoretical literature on the comparative efficiencies of mutual and stock forms of corporate organisation in financial services. However this question has received comparatively little attention from business historians. This article examines the factors...

The growth of the Atlantic economy during the eighteenth century has been associated with developments in business networking to mitigate the hazards of communication in long-distance trade. Such social capital-based mechanisms reduced transaction costs, but also proved to have their limitations...