Timothy Guinnane

Timothy W. Guinnane, professor of economics at Yale University, will write a book examining the history and logic of institutions that provided credit and insurance to poor people in Europe and America from the 18th century to the present. Drawing upon the economics of information, game theory, and contract theory, Guinnane will mount a systematic study of how poor people in different periods and places have managed risk. He will also explain why some of the early credit unions eventually became formal, profit-seeking institutions, while others remained non-profit. The book will bring an interdisciplinary and historical perspective to bear on current debates about financial services for the poor.

Working Papers:

• Incentives, Information, and Welfare: England's New Poor Law and the Workhouse Test
• The Development of Germany's Banking System, 1800-1914