About

Joint-stock companies: a great idea

The joint-stock company was developed in the early 1600s as a way to spread risk among investors and exploit the resources of more than one family or extended clan. Each stockholder had a transferable share of the company, with rights to a share of net profit and a say in corporate governance. This innovative business model was largely responsible for financing the colonization of large parts of North America (through the Virginia and Plymouth companies), and of India and large parts of Asia (through the British and Dutch East India companies). Today, modern corporations are built on the idea of the JSC. So congratulations to the people who thought it up.

jointstock.wordpress.com: also a great idea

We created our own Joint Stock Company to be a blog about topics we find interesting, from economic development to movie criticisms and bold predictions about the future. The original idea was that by pooling resources, the individual authors could spread the risk of starting up a new blog. In practice, instead of limiting liability, it almost seems to make each author more responsible for the ideas of another. But it keeps us honest, and as we continue to think and to post, we hope you continue to read.

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The authors

JSC5 is a 20-something living in the US whose favorite holidays include Thanksgiving and the Fourth of July. Favorite topics include US/international politics, development, and big picture prognostication.

JSC7 is a 20-something stuck behind the Great Firewall.