Growth in a Traditional Society

The French Countryside, 1450-1815
Erscheinungsjahr 2000
ISBN: 978-0-691-07008-7
Verlag: Princeton University Press

Buch, Englisch, 362 Seiten, Format (B × H): 152 mm x 229 mm, Gewicht: 616 g

Reihe: Princeton Economic History of the Western World

Philip Hoffman shatters the widespread myth that traditional agricultural societies in early modern Europe were socially and economically stagnant and ultimately dependent on wide-scale political revolution for their growth. Through a richly detailed historical investigation of the peasant agriculture of ancien-régime France, the author uncovers evidence that requires a new understanding of what constituted economic growth in such societies. His arguments rest on a measurement of long-term growth that enables him to analyze the economic, institutional, and political factors that explain its forms and rhythms. In comparing France with England and Germany, Hoffman arrives at fresh answers to some classic questions: Did French agriculture lag behind farming in other countries? If so, did the obstacles in French agriculture lurk within peasant society itself, in the peasants' culture, in their communal property rights, or in the small scale of their farms? Or did the obstacles hide elsewhere, in politics, in the tax system, or in meager opportunities for trade? The author discovers that growth cannot be explained by culture, property rights, or farm size, and argues that the real causes of growth derived from politics and gains from trade. By challenging other widely held beliefs, such as the nature of the commons and the workings of the rural economy, Hoffman offers a new analysis of peasant society and culture, one based on microeconomics and game theory and intended for a wide range of social scientists.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Hoffman, Philip T.

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Europäische Länder England, UK, Irland: Regional & Stadtgeschichte
• Wirtschaftswissenschaften Wirtschaftswissenschaften Wirtschaftsgeschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Wirtschaftsgeschichte
• Wirtschaftswissenschaften Wirtschaftssektoren & Branchen Primärer Sektor Agrarökonomie, Ernährungswirtschaft
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Spezielle Soziologie Agrarsoziologie
• Wirtschaftswissenschaften Volkswirtschaftslehre Volkswirtschaftslehre Allgemein Geschichte der VWL

Inhaltsverzeichnis

List of IllustrationsList of TablesAcknowledgmentsList of AbbreviationsIntroduction3Ch. 1Peasants, Historians, and Economic Growth12Ch. 2Common Rights and the Village Community21Ch. 3Labor Markets, Rental Markets, and Credit in the Local Economy35Ch. 4Agricultural Productivity in France, 1450-178981Ch. 5Explaining Productivity in a Traditional Economy143Ch. 6Conclusion193Appendix A: The Methods and Sources Used with the Notre Dame Sample206Appendix B: Measuring TFP with Other Samples of Leases238Appendix C: The Economics of Urban Fertilizer266Appendix D: Hedonic Wage Regressions268Notes273Sources and Bibliography345Index355