The political economy of the abolition of seigneurial tenure in Canada East

The Seeds of Divergence: The Economy of French North America, 1688 to 1760

“…"Scale effects in growth: A role for institutions", Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization,Vol.66,No. 2,[403][404][405][406][407][408][409][410][411][412][413][414][415][416][417][418][419] Ibid,p.417. rather than output). The peasant was not allowed to leave his farmstead.…”

“…414 The best summary available for the "revisionist viewpoint" is that of Percy and Szostak where they study the abolition of seigneurial tenure and state that "the negative effects of seigneurial tenure on the economy appear to have been exaggerated". 415 To support this claim, they point to papers by Marvin McInnis and Frank Lewis 416 who showed very small differences in total factor productivities across ethnic lines with the census of 1851 of Canada East (as Quebec was then known) which Percy and Szostak assume extends along institutional lines. According to Percy and Szostak, "the only factor likely to impinge on investment was the lods et ventes" because it would hinder capital accumulation.…”

“…According to Percy and Szostak, "the only factor likely to impinge on investment was the lods et ventes" because it would hinder capital accumulation. 417 And even there, they argue it would have been small. Overall, the revisionists have the upper hand.…”

Measuring Away the Importance of Institutions: The Case of Seigneurial Tenure and Agricultural Output in Canada East, 1851*

“…The majority view holds that the effects (on agriculture in particular and on the economy in general) should be limited (Courville, , ; Russell, ; Grenier, ; Grenier and Laberge, ; Little, ; Altman, 1998), although they all use a different reasoning. The best summary of that viewpoint comes from Percy and Szostak (), who studied the abolition of seigneurial tenure and stated that “the negative effects of seigneurial tenure on the economy appear to have been exaggerated.” To make this claim, they rely on two papers by Lewis and McInnis (, ), which, using measurements of total factor productivity (TFP), show that “French Canadian farmers were virtually as efficient as English Canadian farmers in Quebec” (Percy and Szostak, :57). Percy and Szostak argue that while Lewis and McInnis (, ) focused on differences along ethnic lines, “the same results likely hold for different tenure regimes given the preponderance of French within one and English within the other” (:57).…”

Monopsony and Industrial Development in Nineteenth Century Quebec: The Impact of Seigneurial Tenure

“…The traditional historiography considered these features as detrimental to growth and development. However, many scholars question this explanation arguing that the role of seigneurial tenure was either minimal (Percy and Szostak, 1992;Courville, 2008) or negligible (Russell, 2012). While seigneurial tenure was abolished in 1854, the general belief is that seigneurial tenure did not initiate Quebec's relative poverty.…”