An interesting science fiction book is Neptune's Brood by Charles Stross. A major structural core of the book is how different colonies trade and the finance models across interstellar distances.
How does a colony finance the initial voyage and investment. It raises the concept of slow money ( 1 slow dollar is the economic output of a professional people for 40 years irc) and fast money for day to day use.
Adding it to the pile of books to read! Thanks
Not based on speed of light travel, but I always enjoyed the old Andre Norton books that revolved around "tramp steamer" type traders. The Solar Queen series was great.