Schumpeter on money, banking and finance: an institutionalist perspective

In this paper we provide an institutional interpretation of Schumpeter's analysis of money, banking and finance. We justify this interpretation by considering first Schumpeter's overall methodological perspective, in particular the role played by economic sociology in his approach, and second by showing that the way Schumpeter describes the successive steps of economic development - circular flow, steady state and development - provides a good illustration of how institutional change is progressively introduced into his analytical framework and of the leading role of the banking system in the overall evolution of the financial system.