ON THE POLITICAL FOUNDATIONS OF THE LATE-MEDIEVAL COMMERCIAL REVOLUTION - GENOA DURING THE 12TH AND 13TH CENTURIES

Although the late medieval Commercial Revolution is considered to be a water-shed in the economic history of Europe, the analysis of the int errelationship between political and economic systems in bringing abou t this period of economic growth has been neglected. This article cond ucts such an analysis with respect to the city of Genoa during the twe lfth and thirteenth centuries. Viewing political institutions as self- enforcing agreements rather than as exogenous rules, I present and ana lyze the nature and evolution of Genoa's political systems and the rel ations between these systems and economic growth.