Rome's Economic Revolution (Oxford Studies on the Roman Economy)

In this volume, Philip Kay examines economic change in Rome and Italy between the Second Punic War and the middle of the first century BC. He argues that increased inflows of bullion, in particular silver, combined with an expansion of the availability of credit to produce significant growth in monetary liquidity. This, in turn, stimulated market developments, such as investment farming, trade, construction, and manufacturing, and radically changed the composition and scale of the Roman economy. Using a wide range of evidence and scholarly investigation, Kay demonstrates how Rome, in the second and first centuries BC, became a coherent economic entity experiencing real per capita economic growth. Without an understanding of this economic revolution, the contemporaneous political and cultural changes in Roman society cannot be fully comprehended or explained. Cover 1 Rome’s Economic Revolution 4 Copyright 5 Dedication 6 Acknowledgements 8 Contents 10 List of Figures 12 List of Tables 14 Abbreviations 16 Introduction The Creation of Complexity 18 1: Rome and its Economy at the Time of the Second Punic War 26 Part I: Sources of Revenue 36 2: Indemnities and Booty 38 INTRODUCTION 38 SELF-PERPETUATING WARS 42 BOOTY 46 A CASE STUDY OF SENATORIAL FINANCES: SCIPIO AFRICANUS 52 WAR INDEMNITIES 54 CONCLUSION 59 3: Mining Revenues 60 INTRODUCTION 60 SCALE 60 PUBLICANI 66 MACEDONIA 71 CONCLUSION 75 4: State Finance and the lex Sempronia de provincia Asia 76 INTRODUCTION 76 THE LEX SEMPRONIA DE PROVINCIA `SIA 76 CHRONOLOGY 78 SENATUS CONSULTUM DE AGRO PERGAMENO 83 EXPENDITURE 86 ASIA 87 TAXES 90 GAIUS GRACCHUS’ ECONOMIC THINKING AND THE CENSORIA LOCATIO 93 CONCLUSION 99 Part II: The Roman Money Supply 102 5: Cashing in the Plunder 104 INTRODUCTION 104 THE ROMAN DENARIUS AND THE ‘HOPKINS MODEL’ 106 MONETIZING THE EMPIRE AND THE COUNTRYSIDE? 110 PRICES AND INFLATION 119 CONCLUSION 122 6: Credit and Financial Intermediation 124 INTRODUCTION 124 THEORIES OLD AND NEW 125 A BANKING MODEL 127 THE EVIDENCE FOR FINANCIAL INTERMEDIATION 130 THE GROWTH OF THE PROFESSION 141 CONCLUSION 144 Part III: The Application of Funds 146 7: Investment Farming and Agricultural Exploitation 148 INTRODUCTION 148 ELITE INVESTMENT IN LAND IN THE SECOND CENTURY 150 A BOOM IN EXPORTS 158 INVESTMENT FARMING 164 INVESTMENT IN TECHNOLOGY 172 THE AGRARIAN CRISIS OF 133 BC 177 PUBLIC LAND 179 THE ‘ROBUST’ ROMAN PEASANT 183 THE DEMOGRAPHIC GROWTH OF THE FREE POPULATION OF ITALY 190 SLAVES 195 A DEMOGRAPHIC MODEL OF LATE REPUBLICAN ITALY 199 PRIVATIZATION 201 CONCLUSION 203 8: Trade, Capital, and Interconnected Markets 206 INTRODUCTION 206 CICERO 208 NEGOTIATORES IN THE 60S AND 50S 209 AVAILABILITY OF FINANCIAL CAPITAL IN THE 60S AND 50S 211 DELOS IN THE SECOND CENTURY 214 AN INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN SLAVES AND LUXURY GOODS 219 THE SPREAD OF ITALIAN TRADING NETWORKS 223 FINANCIAL CAPITAL IN THE EMPORIA 228 CONCLUSION 230 9: The Creation of ‘Material Complexity’ 232 INTRODUCTION 232 ROME 233 ITALIA 238 CONSTRUCTION 241 MANUFACTURING 244 ELITE INVOLVEMENT 246 CONCLUSION 249 10: After the Credit Crunch 252 INTRODUCTION 252 BANKS IN THE FIRST CENTURIES AD AND BC 253 THE PROBLEMS OF THE 80s BC 260 BANKS IN TROUBLE 269 DEPOSITORS’ REACTIONS 272 BANKING FOR THE MASSES 274 THE ATTITUDE OF THE STATE 276 ECONOMIC IMPACT 281 Part IV: Quantification 284 11: Forecasting the Past 286 INTRODUCTION 286 MEASURING ECONOMIC GROWTH 288 THE DIAGNOSTIC FEATURES OF A GROWING ECONOMY 291 WAR, TRADE, AND THE SUPPLY SIDE OF THE REPUBLICAN ECONOMY 296 THE GDP DEFLATOR 300 GDP FROM THE INCOME SIDE 302 GDP FROM THE EXPENDITURE SIDE 314 1. The Roman state 315 2. Expenditure: Personal Consumption 321 3. Expenditure: Other private consumption and investment 322 MONEY 328 NATIONAL DISPOSABLE INCOME 340 CONCLUSION 341 Summary and Conclusions 344 Bibliography 352 Index of Sources 376 General Index 390 Philip Kay Examines The Economic Change In Rome Between The Second Punic War And The Middle Of The 1st Century Bc. He Focuses On How The Increased Flow Of Bullion And Expansion Of The Availability Of Credit Resulted In Real Per Capita Economic Growth In The Italian Peninsula, Radically Changing The Composition And Scale Of The Roman Economy. Rome And Its Economy At The Time Of The Second Punic War -- Indemnities And Booty -- Mining Revenues -- State Finance And The Lex Sempronia De Provincia Asia -- Cashing In The Plunder -- Credit And Financial Intermediation -- Investment Farming And Agricultural Exploitation -- Trade, Capital, And Interconnected Markets -- The Creation Of 'material Complexity' -- After The Credit Crunch -- Forecasting The Past. Philip Kay. Includes Bibliographical References (pages [335]-358) And Indexes. In English; Occasional Phrases In Latin With English Translations. Kay examines the economic change in Rome between the Second Punic War and the middle of the first century BC. He focuses on how the increased inflow of bullion and expansion of the availability of credit resulted in real per capita economic growth in the Italian peninsula, radically changing the composition and scale of the Roman economy.