The 2nd international GDRI conference program / 2nd EurasiaTrajeco conference : Connected Histories—Trading Networks Across the Eurasian Continent : Structures, Practices, and Socio-economic Impact

Paris, EHESS, 28-29 November 2014, 190-198, avenue de France, 75013 Paris /105 boulevard Raspail, 75006, Paris

2nd EurasiaTrajeco conference, EHESS, 28-29/11/2014

Several paradigm shifts have occurred in the conceptual field of economic and social history. The contributions of legal studies, cultural anthropology, and comparative institutional economics have cast a new light on issues that were hitherto solely focused on economics. A new perspective has emerged, rejecting a linear and simplistic narrative of market economy development and institutional change, and stressing the importance of connected histories. Beyond the mere description of the main regional networks of merchants (their rise, development, and decline), and the series of formal and informal financial institutions upon which they relied, the 2d EurasiaTrajeco conference will explore the operating practices of regional trading groupsand their regional connections over the Eurasian continent, during a long period and will investigate the dynamics ofthe various areas endogenous commercial and financial institutions.

The 2d EurasiaTrajeco conference will investigate four sets of questions.

1. Methodological issues : sources, hypotheses, and methods of investigations. All these topics are quite different in the various areas under investigation : western Europe, Ottoman empire, Central and East Asia.

2. The overall contribution of these regional trade groupings to economic growth and the way in which these regional trade groupings arose and how they evolved. What is the specific trajectory of endogenous economic institutions and business practices in a given socio-economic and legal environment ?

3. The third issue touches upon with the merchants’networks relations with the State. How did they fulfill the objectives of the merchants and entrepreneurs ? Were they able to cope with other merchant groups as competitors, and later on with foreign competitors, especially in the 19th century ?

4. Finally, the socio-economic role of merchant networks will be under scrutiny. Were these regional trading networks well adapted to their socio-economic environments ? What was the economic impact of philanthropy ?How were their moral obligations fulfilled ?