Plantation Mortgage-Backed Securities: Evidence from Surinam in the 18th Century

This is the replication package for the article Plantation Mortgage-Backed Securities: Evidence from Surinam in the 18th Century. In the second half of the 18th century, Dutch bankers channeled investors’ funds to sugar and coffee plantations in the Caribbean, Surinam in particular. Agency problems between plantation owners, bankers, and investors led to an arrangement called negotiaties. Bankers oversaw plantations’ cash-flows and placed mortgage-debt with investors. We demonstrate how this securitization arrangement worked using market-wide data and detailed records from banker F.W. Hudig. During the boom, debt contracts and their securitization were an effective solution for planters, bankers, and investors. However, the market crashed after an oversupply of credit. This led to inefficient restructuring due to debt overhang.

本数据集为论文《18世纪苏里南的种植园抵押支持证券（Plantation Mortgage-Backed Securities）：实证证据》的复现包。18世纪下半叶，荷兰银行家将投资者资金投向加勒比地区的蔗糖与咖啡种植园，尤以苏里南为甚。种植园主、银行家与投资者之间的代理问题催生了一种被称为negotiaties的契约安排。银行家负责监管种植园的现金流，并将抵押债务分销给投资者。我们借助全市场数据与银行家F.W.赫迪格（F.W. Hudig）的详细档案，阐明了这一证券化安排的运作机制。在市场繁荣期，债务契约及其证券化为种植园主、银行家与投资者提供了高效的解决方案。然而，信贷供应过剩导致市场崩盘，进而因债务积压引发了低效的资产重组。