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From privatized to government‐administered tax collection: tax farming in eighteenth‐century France

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  • EUGENE N. WHITE

Abstract

The establishment of a government bureaucracy to collect taxes is regarded as one of the essential features of a modern economy. While Britain is considered a pioneer, France has been treated as a laggard because of continued reliance on tax farming. Focusing on the largest tax farm, France's late transition from private to government tax collection is explained in a principal‐agent context by the difficulties of monitoring employees and borrowing at low cost in the capital market. Tax farmers continued to earn high returns, absorbing the risk of fluctuating collections, leaving the Crown with lower revenue.

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  • Eugene N. White, 2004. "From privatized to government‐administered tax collection: tax farming in eighteenth‐century France," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 57(4), pages 636-663, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ehsrev:v:57:y:2004:i:4:p:636-663
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-0289.2004.00291.x
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    2. Mikael Priks, 2005. "Optimal Rent Extraction in Pre-Industrial England and France – Default Risk and Monitoring Costs," CESifo Working Paper Series 1464, CESifo.
    3. Noel D., Johnson & Mark, Koyama, 2012. "Standardizing the fiscal state: cabal tax farming as an Intermediate Institution in early-modern England and France," MPRA Paper 40403, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Kammas, Pantelis & Sarantides, Vassilis, 2020. "Democratisation and tax structure in the presence of home production: Evidence from the Kingdom of Greece," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 177(C), pages 219-236.
    5. Metin M. CoÅŸgel & Thomas J. Miceli, 2009. "Tax Collection in History," Public Finance Review, , vol. 37(4), pages 399-420, July.
    6. David R Stead, "undated". "Fixed Rent Contracts in English Agriculture, 1750-1850: A Conjecture," Discussion Papers 05/01, Department of Economics, University of York.
    7. Johnson, Noel D. & Koyama, Mark, 2014. "Tax farming and the origins of state capacity in England and France," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 1-20.
    8. Poitras, Geoffrey & Geranio, Manuela, 2016. "Trading of shares in the Societates Publicanorum?," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 95-118.
    9. Adnan Q. Khan & Asim I. Khwaja & Benjamin A. Olken, 2016. "Tax Farming Redux: Experimental Evidence on Performance Pay for Tax Collectors," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 131(1), pages 219-271.
    10. Safya Morshed, 2024. "State of forgiveness: Cooperation, conciliation, and state formation in Mughal South Asia (1556–1707)," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 77(1), pages 60-89, February.
    11. Mehmet Emin Yardımcı & Bengü Doğangün Yasa & Ednan Ayvaz, 2022. "Tax Farming Revenues and Accounting in Ottoman Finance: The Case of Kocaeli (1846–1847)," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(2), pages 21582440221, May.
    12. Belev, Sergei (Белев, Сергей) & Zolotareva, Anna (Золотарев, Анна) & Malayrev, Aleksandr (Малайрев, Александр) & Sokolov, Ilya (Соколов, Илья), 2015. "Structural Alternatives to the Tax Administration [Структурные Альтернативы Налогового Администрирования]," Published Papers mn13, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration.

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