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Retail Customers' Interest Charges in Late Eighteenth and Early Nineteenth Century New Paltz, NY
Joan Hollister,
State University of New York at New Paltz
ABSTRACT. Using New Paltz, NY, Hasbrouck store ledgers for 1793 through 1813, this study provides evidence that many of the entity's customers received interest-free financing and when interest was included in accounts that terms were generous. Generally charges for interest only appeared years after the last transaction in accounts where there was little activity. Although the ledgers do not include specific information pertaining to the interest calculations, evidence was found supporting the use of a simple interest approach with a rate of around seven percent. The time for which interest was charged was usually a shorter period than the time between the last posted transaction and the date the interest was entered. A primary conclusion of this study is that rural shopkeepers may have made a major contribution to the economic well being of their communities by providing interest-free financing for most households.
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