France.

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Compte rendu de lecture de 'Letterbook of Greg & Cunningham, 1756-57, Merchants of New York and Belfast' by Thomas M. Truxes.

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Do Frontiers give of do frontiers take ? The case of intercontinental trade in France at the end of the Ancien Régime

This paper studies the role of the French intercontinental trading maritime frontier in domestic capital accumulation at the end of the Ancien Régime. It uses O'Brien's method to measure the amount of annual profits generated in this sector. The net gain is then computed by computing how much income and savings the resources invested in the intercontinental sector would have had if they have been invested in the French domestic economy. Finally, using the notion of "heart of growth", the paper suggests that this frontier was more important for its attractiveness for domestic capitalists than for the riches it distributed.France - 18th century, profits, internatinonal trade, economic growth, capital accumulation

Profitability of slave and long distance trading in context : the case of eightheenth century France.

This paper studies the characteristics of investment in the slave trade and other long distance trades in France during the eighteenth century. After justifying why the slave trade should be aggregated with other long distance trades for this study, the paper introduces French data. Information is available on a total of 238 ventures from seven French harbours from the 1710s to the 1780s. The paper then focuses on computing the internal rate of return of the portfolio of investment in 65 voyages owned by an investor from Nantes. Using the undiscounted benefit-cost ratio as a proxy, the paper shows that this was typical of French long distance trade investments. These investments compared favourably with domestic alternatives. They were more liquid, shorter and more profitable than private notarized credit without being more risky. They were less risky and had a shorter duration than government bonds, without being less liquid or less profitable. The paper conclude that investment in the slave trade and other long distance trade was preferable to domestic alternatives in France during the eighteenth century. This might be explained by the existence of barriers to entry.

Domestic Trade and Market Size in Late 18th century France.

This article tests whether smaller domestic markets can explain why France industrialized more slowly than Britain. To do so, it uses the Tableaux du Maximum. It begins by presenting this source and then checks if the data from the source are plausible using a logit theoretical gravity equation. The results of this gravity equation are then employed to compute the expected market size of specific supply centers. Even if differences in real, nominal, and disposable income are taken into account, some French supply centers had access to domestic markets that were larger than the whole of Britain.

The quality of slave trade investment in eighteenth century France

This paper studies the characteristics of investment in slave trade and associated trades in France during the eighteenth century. The study of the accounts of an investor from Nantes, Bertrand de Cœuvre, shows that his investment compared favourably with domestic alternatives. It was more liquid, shorter and more profitable than private notarized credit without being more risky. It was less risky and had a shorter duration than government debt, without being less liquid or less profitable. The study of investments in a total of 238 ventures from Nantes, Marseilles, Rouen, Bordeaux, La Rochelle and Saint-Malo confirms that superiority from the 1710s to the 1780s. The fact that domestic investors and their capital were attracted to the centres of intercontinental trade investment during the period corroborates this conclusion.Profits, Slave trade, France, 18th century, international trade

Frontiers give or do frontiers take ? The case of intercontinental trade in France at the end of the Ancien Régime.

This paper studies the role of French intercontinental trade in the accumulation of domestic capital at the end of the Ancien Régime. It uses O’Brien’s method to measure the amount of annual profits generated from this sector. The marginal profits are then computed by estimating what return the resources invested in the intercontinental sector would have had if they had been invested domestically instead. Finally, using the notion of “hearth of growth,” the paper suggests that international trade was important for the French economy in spite of its modest aggregate returns.

Paying transaction costs

This paper tries to understand the adoption of different organisational forms by trade intermediaries. It does that by exploring their options in a coherent economic framework emphasizing the importance of paying transaction costs. It is based both on my knowledge of 18th century French traders and some insights from more contemporaneous situations. In the first part, the paper analyses the static activity of traders and the tools at their disposal. In the second part, it studies the alternative they had to dynamically improve their situation