Example annotated bibliography
The question addressed using the sources below is: ‘How have historians
responded to the ‘credible commitment’ thesis expounded by Douglass North
and Barry Weingast? You needn’t concern yourself with the specifics of the
argument, just observe the style and layout of the bibliography.
Secondary Sources:
1) Clark, G., ‘The Political Foundations of Modern Economic Growth, 1540-1800’,
Journal of Interdisciplinary History, vol. XXV (1996), pp. 563-588.
In a concise and well argued essay Clark refutes North and Weingast’s thesis. He
uses data on the return on capital and land prices to demonstrate that secure
private property rights existed in England from at least as early as 1600.
2) Levi, M., Of Rule and Revenue (London, 1988).
A dense account of the tactics used by rulers to maximize the revenue they exact
from their territories. Levi’s argument supports North and Weigast’s thesis but
her attempt to blend economic theory with historical example is not entirely
successful.
3) Stasavage, D., ‘Credible Commitment in Early Modern Europe: North and
Weingast Revisited’, The Journal of Law, Economics and Organization, vol. 18
(2002), pp. 155-186.
Stasavage also challenges the work of North and Weingast. He argues that
constitutional checks and balances are neither a necessary nor a sufficient
condition to create a credible commitment to secure property rights.
4) Wells, J. and Wills, D., ‘Revolution, Restoration, and Debt Repudiation: The
Jacobite Threat to England’s Institutions and Economic Growth’, Journal of
Economic History, vol. 60 (2000), pp. 418-441.
Wells and Wills provide an empirical test of North and Weingast’s work. Their
conclusions suggest that institutional innovation was a key factor in promoting
the growth of the financial system.
Electronic resources:
1) ‘Data concerning stock prices from John Castaing’s Course of Exchange in The
European State Finance Database’,
http://www.le.ac.uk/hi/bon/ESFDB/frameset.html; consulted on 10 January
2008.
A dataset containing prices of Bank of England shares during the eighteenth
century. The dataset clearly shows the reaction of share prices to political events
and military setbacks and successes thus providing the basis for a test of North
and Weingast’s theories.
Primary Sources:
1) Grascome, S., An Account of the Proceedings in the House of Commons in
Relation to the Recoining the Clipp’d Money (London, 1696).
Grascombe’s polemical account details the English public’s anger at Parliament’s
financial incompetence. It shows that North and Weingast were wrong to argue
that Parliament was regarded as a credible debtor.