Showing papers by "Philip T. Hoffman published in 1982"
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the wave of investment in agriculture in 16th and 17th century France, a movement with parallels throughout Western Europe, and they argued that the investment resulted from royal tax policy.
Abstract: This paper examines the wave of investment in agriculture in 16th and 17th century France, a movement with parallels throughout Western Europe. After dismissing the explanations advanced by most historians, I argue that the investment in agriculture resulted from royal tax policy. I then consider the predilection investors showed for sharecropping and suggest that this predilection can be explained in light of modern economic theories of share contracts.
13 citations