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Silver Points, Silver Flows, and the Measure of Chinese Financial Integration

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  • David S. Jacks
  • Se Yan
  • Liuyan Zhao
Abstract
To what degree were Chinese financial markets integrated with the rest of the world prior to the 1949 Revolution and to what extent was the Chinese foreign exchange market efficient during this period? We estimate silver points for the Shanghai market from 1905 to 1933 to answer these questions. Our inferred measures are small in value, favorably match measured costs of the silver trade derived from contemporary accounts, and fare well in the comparison to estimates of trans-Atlantic gold points. This leads to the conclusion that the degree of Chinese financial market integration was substantial. However, during and immediately after World War I, our estimates of the silver points increased appreciably, foreshadowing the collapse of China’s linkages to world financial markets beginning in the 1930s.

Suggested Citation

  • David S. Jacks & Se Yan & Liuyan Zhao, 2016. "Silver Points, Silver Flows, and the Measure of Chinese Financial Integration," NBER Working Papers 22747, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:22747
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    Cited by:

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    2. Debin Ma & Liuyan Zhao, 2020. "A silver transformation: Chinese monetary integration in times of political disintegration, 1898–1933," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 73(2), pages 513-539, May.
    3. Lim, Eun Son & Breuer, Janice Boucher, 2019. "Free trade agreements and market integration: Evidence from South Korea," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 241-256.
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    5. Ma, Debin & Zhao, Liuyan, 2019. "A Silver Transformation: Chinese Monetary Integration in Times of Political Disintegration during 1898-1933," CEPR Discussion Papers 13501, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    6. Bo Chen & Dan Li & Yiqing Xie, 2022. "Silver, fiduciary money, and the Chinese economy, 1890–1935," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(4), pages 939-970, September.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • E42 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Monetary Sytsems; Standards; Regimes; Government and the Monetary System
    • F15 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Economic Integration
    • N25 - Economic History - - Financial Markets and Institutions - - - Asia including Middle East

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