We introduce a new weekly database of spot and forward US-UK exchange rates and interest rates to examine the integration of forward exchange markets during the classical Gold Standard period (1880-1914). Using threshold autoregressions (TARs), we estimate the transaction cost band of covered...

We use the founding of the Federal Reserve to identify the effects of a lender of last resort. We examine stock return and interest rate volatility during September and October, when markets were vulnerable because of financial stringency from the harvest. Stock volatility fell by 40% and...

During the Civil War the Arkansas legislature funded their expenditures primarily through interest-bearing warrants and war bonds. After these issues were made legal tender in November 1861, the discount attributed to them disappeared immediately and they began to circulate widely. By mid- 1862...