Journal article 1130 views
Depreciation in Vitruvius
Tracey Rihll
Classical Quarterly, Volume: 63, Issue: 2, Pages: 893 - 897
Swansea University Author: Tracey Rihll
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DOI (Published version): 10.1017/S0009838813000384
Abstract
A passage in Vitruvius De architectura demonstrates clear understanding of what we call ‘depreciation’ or ‘amortization’ in ancient Roman thought. It appears to have been overlooked to date. Depreciation is an economic concept of some sophistication, and its presence in late Republic Rome is signifi...
| Published in: | Classical Quarterly |
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| ISSN: | 0009-8388 |
| Published: |
2013
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| Online Access: |
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| URI: | https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa15132 |
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| Abstract: |
A passage in Vitruvius De architectura demonstrates clear understanding of what we call ‘depreciation’ or ‘amortization’ in ancient Roman thought. It appears to have been overlooked to date. Depreciation is an economic concept of some sophistication, and its presence in late Republic Rome is significant for any discussion of economic and moral values at that important time in ancient history. The next surviving reference to depreciation in historical sources known to me was written by Robert Loder in 1612, about sixteen centuries later, and it reveals a simpler understanding of the concept than that preserved in Vitruvius. American accountants did not get interested in the concept until the 1830s, when large capital investments were being made in the railway industry and stockholders required their business managers to account for the assets. As late as 1912, depreciation still received little or no systematic attention. As a verbal formula, Vitruvius reports that the current value of the asset = the original cost less the depreciation to date, where the depreciation to date is a fraction * the original cost * the age. |
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| Keywords: |
Economic history, depreciation, Roman history, Vitruvius |
| College: |
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Issue: |
2 |
| Start Page: |
893 |
| End Page: |
897 |