Structural Hypotheses
Bookmark this page

France’s economic performance reflection of the economic performance of her trading patterns at odds with view that deep structural forces determined France’ economic response to the opportunities opened up by the IR

Constancy of gap nicely explained by structural difference –cause cannot be technology, resources, economic institutions – or even institutions forming human capital – equally endowed as Britain – deeper structural reason – three structures for economic retardation:

1.      interventionist policies restricting gains from trade (dirigisme)

That Estates General did not model itself into self-governing parliament restricting personal liberty meant restriction economic liberty – oppressive taxation, over regulation and excessive protection

Taxation – over taxation recurring theme – Mathias and O’Brien 18^th century fiscal effort less strenuous than England’s 10 – 11% commodity output taxes cf. 17-22% England – investment tax, not on consumption and land tax may have penalsied those who improved it

Regulation – question of whether 17^th century income gap caused by over regulation must be considered unanswered – needs clinometric testing.

Protection – Nye reexamines whether protection encouraged survival of inefficient firms – average tariff lower than British- hardly argued French economic development distorted by trade imposed by France.

2.      Anti-capitalist social psychology (mentalite)

Annales 1930s to 1990s inherently rigid structure cosntraing historical outcomes – social values can lead individuals to behave differently from the dictates of market optimization programme – Cliometricians Cox and Nye (women in textiles paid their marginal product), Grantham mixed husbandry profit max response – demonstrate rationality French economic agents – mentalities could not have significantly affected the allocation of resources.

Landes: Industrial enterprises too small owners refuse to dilute control over their enterprises by drawn on external supplies of capital and managerial skills – Nye finds little evidence of economies of scale in 1865 industrial census – Sicsic – French industrial structure not irrationally biased towards small firms – individual industries French firms nor noticeably smaller than British ones – industrial strcutre outcome of endogenous product differentiation by monopolistic comeptiors marketed their local output or well-defined markets

Other Notes in this Category

1. Introduction
2. Migration and Agricultural Markets
3. paradox of pre-Revolutionary productivity
4. Peasant Farming and Agric. Backwardness
5. Persistence of the open-fields
6. Retardation in the age of Industry
7. Structural Hypotheses
8. The Cliometrics of French Retardation

Didn't find this useful?

• Visit Coursework.Info for over 14,000 GCSE, A-Level and University Essays