She claims that the large slave operations were efficient.
Field, Elizabeth B. 1988. "The Relative Efficiency of Slavery
Revisited: A Translog Production Function Approach." American
Economic Review, 78: 3 (June): pp. 543-9.
Hoffer, R.A. and S.T. Folland. 1991. "The Relative Efficiency of
Slave Agriculture: A Comment." Applied Economics, 23: 5 (May): pp.
861-8.
I think that the problem is that it is difficult to generalize. Some
masters were -- to some extent -- paternalistic; others, sadistic.
Either can conflict with efficiency. But then, I suppose that factory
owners could do likewise. Also, the enjoyment of power over others --
sexual and otherwise -- is a factor. No doubt some slave owners were
more oriented toward profit.
Finally, I suspect that an interested scholar would find differences
between locations and between crops.
--
Michael Perelman
Economics Department
California State University
Chico, CA 95929
Tel. 530-898-5321
E-Mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
