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Profitability of Slave and Long-Distance Trading in Context: The Case of Eighteenth-Century France

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 March 2004

GUILLAUME DAUDIN
GUILLAUME DAUDIN
Affiliation:
Economist, Observatoire Français de la Conjoncture Économique, 69, Quaid'Orsay, Paris Cedex 07, 75340 France. E-mail: guillaume.daudin@ofce.sciences-po.fr.
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Abstract

This article studies slave and other long-distance trades in eighteenth-century France. The data cover 238 ventures from seven French harbors between 1710 and 1780. Using the undiscounted benefit-cost ratio as a proxy for the internal rate of return, the article shows that these investments were more liquid, shorter, and more profitable than private notarized credit, without higher risk. They were safer and had a shorter duration than government bonds, without being less liquid or less profitable. The conclusion, that investment in these trades was preferable to domestic alternatives, may be explained by barriers to entry.

Type
ARTICLES
Information
The Journal of Economic History , Volume 64 , Issue 1 , March 2004 , pp. 144 - 171
Copyright
© 2004 The Economic History Association

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