Did the joint-stock company really begin in 17th-century England or the Dutch Republic?

New research suggests otherwise -> https://doi.org/10.1080/00076791.2025.2478880

New research by David Le Bris, William N. Goetzmann, and Sébastien Pouget suggests otherwise. By uncovering earlier cases in medieval southern Europe, the authors argue that the joint-stock company is not a uniquely English or Dutch innovation—but the result of convergent evolution in different legal and economic systems.

📘 Article: Convergent evolution towards the joint-stock company

🔗 https://doi.org/10.1080/00076791.2025.2478880