> Japan had developed full-on derivatives markets (not just futures but CDS-style bets) for its rice crops.
Any English-written resources for that? It sounds really interesting.
Was trying to find the section in a textbook I had read about this, but this article[0] on the Dojima Market goes into a good amount of detail about this, and is a fun read.
[0]: http://disciplinas.stoa.usp.br/pluginfile.php/69204/mod_reso...
> Recognizing the
potential profit opportunity, the Nagoya merchant bought the future harvest of his region by
paying approximately 10% to the farmers and writing drafts for the rest of the negotiated
amount. These drafts were not to be presented for payment before the rice was actually sold.
When the harvest came in, he stored it and after three or four months sold it with a profit of 30-
40%, as prices had climbed in the meantime.2
It is interesting that this sort of financial instrument would have been totally impossible with water logged veggies.
I like the "portability/storability" hypothesis this article is proposing for societal development. If only because it becomes a proxy for financial systems. And you don't have to "convince" people that your money is useful: You can always eat it!