Financial contagion and market intervention in the 1772-3 credit crisis

Abstract

The 1772-3 credit crisis impressed its contemporaries for its suddenness, geographical range, and for arising during a time of relative peace and robust economic growth. It also arguably displayed an early instance of a Lender of Last Resort (LLR) in action, some thirty years before the classical articulation of the concept. This paper investigates whether financial contagion was at work in 1772-3, and describes its possible routes of transmission. It furthermore identifies the agents of market intervention, and discusses whether theirs was a conscious policy to limit systemic risk, or ad hoc improvisation in response to other considerations.