Lecture 3:
Early Agriculture
ECON 451
Fall 2012
Professor David Jacks
For hundreds—if not thousands—of years,
agriculture remained the predominant
occupation in the European economy.
Thus, anything which encouraged or impeded
agricultural productivity was to have huge
implications for the performance of the
“macroeconomy”.
Introduction
Apart from the sheer monotony of everyday life,
there a few other aspects which are puzzling
from a modern day perspective.
The main issue we will be
exploring is what explains
the development,
persistence, and
eventual demise of:
1.) the open-fields system
2.) and serfdom (or the manorial system)
Introduction
A little background, starting with the Romans.
Establishing a time-line
Economically, the Roman Empire reached its
peak from the late 1st Century to the early 3rd
Century (roughly 90-215 AD).
One of the most important aspects of the Roman
economy was the degree of geographical
specialization it was able to achieve.
A common market centered on the
The Roman Economy
A fully developed inter-regional division of
labor, much more extensive than any thing seen
before and not to be rivaled until 1650 AD.
Italy: wines, craftwares, and services
Egypt: grain, jewelry, and perfumes
Syria: glassware and textile
France/Spain: olive oil, pottery, and wines
North Africa, Sicily, and Russia: grain
England: slaves and wool
The Roman Economy
Much of this achievement was explainable by
the Roman insistence on:
1.) well-defined (physical) property rights,
2.) the enforceability of contracts,
3.) freedom of enterprise, and
4.) few constraints on commercial activity.
The Roman Economy
The Roman economy was also notable for its
consistent, light and stable tariff system with
ad valorem rates ranging from 2.5% to 25%.
Additional roles for:
1.) the Pax Romana,
2.) the development of transport infrastructure,
3.) and the suppression of piracy in the
Mediterranean and Black Seas.
The Roman Economy
But an important distinction must be made
between the spread and role of commerce and its
place in society.
The Romans were originally small-scale
farmers, but as they turned to more martial and
administrative tasks, they tended to celebrate
their agricultural roots.
Commerce was suspect and left in the hands of
The Roman Economy
This gave rise to an agricultural system based on
small landholdings owned by citizens and on
immense plantations (latifundia) owned by the
upper classes and worked by slaves.
Surpluses generated in agriculture, however,
were only mobilized (and taxed) by the
commercial system.
A failure on its part, and the
The Roman Economy
A familiar story: the fall of Rome, barbarian
hordes, and the Dark Ages (500-1000 AD).
Collapse only in the western part of the
Empire—roughly from England in the north,
Italy in the south, Hungary in the east, and Spain
in the west.
The disruption caused by the invasions led to an
Collapse
Collapse
Rather than produce surpluses for the market,
output became centered around large estates.
In many cases, these coincided with the old
latifundia.
Lords offered protection from outsiders, but
former slaves, small landowners, and artisans
had to bond themselves to the lords, i.e. they
Collapse
Organization of agricultural labor became
centered not only around the manor but also the
open-fields system.
Origins of open-fields unknown, but the pattern
is very widespread.
Persists into the present day around the world.
A common phenomena = a common solution?
The open-fields system
Most important aspects:
1.) long strips of land with no physical barriers
between plots,
2.) communal decisions on output mix, and
3.) communal access to
The open-fields system
The open-fields system
The open-fields system
The open-fields system
One interpretation has is that the open-fields
system was developed and adopted as a form of
risk-sharing (or insurance) for peasants.
Rationale:
1.) open fields persisted for a long time;
2.) peasants were rational;
3.) so, the benefits of open fields must have
outweighed the costs.
A very standard line of thought in economics…
The open-fields system
Costs: lower agricultural productivity and output.
Benefits: lower variance of agricultural output.
Why? Open fields allowed peasants to spread
their exposure to micro-climatic and other
shocks.
Given how close they were to the threshold of
starvation,
The open-fields system
Output necessary for survival
Average harvest (open fields)
Average harvest (consolidated fields)
The open-fields system
After the Magyar/Norse invasions of the 9th
century, things settle down and commerce was
on the upswing by around 1000 AD.
But the fall of Rome had produced extreme
political fragmentation, meaning more barriers to
trade.
Production was still geared around selfsufficiency and
Europe at the dawn of the second millenium
Europe at the dawn of the second millenium
This is where we pick up the story…
The outcome of the manorialism and open-fields
system in Western Europe was extremely low
agricultural productivity.
Seed-yield ratios were probably 3 on average
with a maximum range of 2 to 6.
Europe at the dawn of the second millenium
But alternatives existed...
1.) Free labor: more expensive to hire, but more
productive.
2.) Enclosed lands: limiting access to lands and
avoiding the tragedy of the commons.
All of which took centuries to take hold.
The feasible set