Going the Distance: Eurasian Trade and the Rise of the Business Corporation, 1400-1700

Description

A historical look at the early evolution of global trade and how this led to the creation and dominance of the European business corporation Before the seventeenth century, trade across Eurasia was mostly conducted in short segments along the Silk Route and Indian Ocean. Business was organized in family firms, merchant networks, and state-owned

Ron Harris is professor of legal history and former dean of law at Tel Aviv University. He is the author of Industrializing English Law.

"Various parts of his [Harris'] oeuvre can be fruitfully utilized to build a new approach, integrating the humanities with social and economic studies."---Carlo Taviani, Journal of Early Modern History "This is essential reading for business history, trade history, and organizational theory."---M. Chaiklin, Choice "Going the distance brings a novel view of institutions, as it opens the black box and studies the functioning of organizational forms of business using insights from legal studies and economy. . . . This book is an essential read for anyone interested in long-distance trade and its organization, as well as for economic and legal historians focusing on institutional analysis. . . . It brings new insights into methodological approaches for the study of the migration and transplantation of institutions."---Karolina Hutkova, Economic History Review "A truly remarkable work of profound scholarship, destined to become a classic. Each micro-study is carefully crafted, mastering well both the specific elements pertaining to it and the way they relate to the bigger picture. . . . A genuine pleasure to read."---Guido Rossi, Edinburgh Law Review "A major academic achievement-certainly one of the most significant contributions to the history of business organizations published over the past decade. It manages to be both highly useful and profoundly challenging to other scholars at the same time. It will likely serve as one of the field's cornerstones for many years to come. The phrase "this is a must-read book" is abused all too often in academic book reviews, but in all seriousness and sincerity, this is a must-read book for anyone with even a passing intellectual interest in the business corporation."---Taisu Zhang, Journal of Economic History "Nourished by extensive research and reflection, matured through a long intellectual journey with the necessary broad focus, [Going the Distance] advances original theses and provides stimulating examples. The merits of Ron Harris' work are numerous, including unimpeachable rigour, and it is difficult to illustrate the cultural richness of this ambitious volume in a few lines."---Luisa Brunori, Legal Comparative History