Duty to firm and market: The subnational and sociocultural constitution of the London Gold Fixing, a global financial market

This dissertation is a historical study of a financial market, the Gold Fixing, based in London, England. The London Gold Fixing transformed from an international gold market in the 1950s to a global structure in the mid-1990s. The purpose of this study was to understand how social relations and cultures, based in the financial heart of London, fostered the Fixing's globalization. Traditionally scholars have argued that instrumentally rational behavior, technological change, and the actions of nation-states explain the emergence of global financial markets. How sociocultural variables shape this process has not been examined by researchers.;This project studies how firms operating at the subnational scale, i.e. London, and the Gold Fixing's normative ethos aided the Fixing's globalization. Archival data and personal interviews were used to ascertain the role of culture and subnational actors in the Gold Fixing's history. My findings indicated that the values of loyalty, duty, and honor governed relations amongst market participants and generated a spirit of camaraderie between them. This ethos of genteel fair play encouraged cooperation amongst the bullion traders and enabled them to address the challenges facing the Fixing during its transformation.;Chapter Two discusses the Gold Fixing's origins and subsequent development during the first half of the twentieth century. Chapter Three recounts the reopening of the Fixing after a fifteen year closure due to the repercussions of the Second World War. Chapter Four focuses on the reemergence of the Gold Fixing as an international market between 1954 and 1968. Chapter Five introduces the genteel ethos that governed the Gold Fixing. Until 1968 the fate of the Fixing largely rested with state institutions. After 1968 the Fixing's participant firms and gentlemanly fair play increasingly shaped the trading forum's future. In Chapter Six, the impact of this ethos on the globalization of the Fixing is discussed. With a review of my findings, I conclude in Chapter 7 that sociocultural processes operating in complex social environments need to be considered when explaining the evolution of even the most global and technologically sophisticated financial markets.