2004 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Comparative Study of Foreign Currency circulation in modern Asia and Africa
| Project/Area Number |
15530232
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Economic history
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| Research Institution | The University of Tokyo |
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Principal Investigator |
KURODA Akinobu The University of Tokyo, Institute of Oriental Culture, Professor, 東洋文化研究所, 教授 (70186542)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2003 – 2004
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| Keywords | Maria Theresia Dollar / Sterling Pound / Silver Price / Addis Ababa / Coffee Export / Ethiopia / China / Foreign silver coin |
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| Research Abstract |
The most important information taken through the investigation on silver circulation of Africa in the Public Record Office in Surrey (UK) is to find out the monthly movement of the Maria Theresa dollar's price to the Sterling pound in Addis Ababa before the Italian invasion against Ethiopia. The correlation efficient between the price of the Maria Theresa dollar in Addis Ababa and the price of silver in London reveals us some interesting results. The period when the positive coefficient was high is coincide with the period the coffee export trade was favorite for Ethiopia, and the period in low coefficient is the period of stagnant trade.
This result hints that the export of a native product drove the price system in the local market to synchronize with the international market through the bridge by the Maria Theresa dollar. But it also suggests that the bridge was down when the international market changed the situation for the product.
This statistical analysis brings more implication on the role of foreign currencies from the nineteenth century to early twentieth century over the world. In this stage the relationship between the international price system and native price ones swung between tightness and looseness according to circumstances. That is why currencies of foreign origins were convenient for both parties to use as temporal connectors. Thus it is reasonable that the Maria Theresa dollar in Africa and the Japanese silver dollar, both were not in circulation in issuing countries of early twentieth century, share the appearance of a loop style circuit connecting many local markets.
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