Abstract
In the eighteenth century, European embassies in the Ottoman Empire started selling exemption licenses called berats, which granted non-Muslim Ottomans tax exemptions and the option to use European law. I construct a novel price panel for British and French licenses based on primary sources. The evidence reveals that prices were significantly high and varied across countries. Agents acquired multiple berats to enhance their legal options, which they exploited through strategic court switching. By the early 1800s, berat holders had driven other groups from European-Ottoman trade.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 720-748 |
| Number of pages | 29 |
| Journal | Journal of Economic History |
| Volume | 75 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Aug 27 2015 |
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ASJC Scopus subject areas
- History
- Economics, Econometrics and Finance (miscellaneous)
- Economics and Econometrics
Cite this
The Price of Legal Institutions : The Beratll Merchants in the Eighteenth-Century Ottoman Empire. / Artunç, Cihan.
In: Journal of Economic History, Vol. 75, No. 3, 27.08.2015, p. 720-748.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
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TY - JOUR
T1 - The Price of Legal Institutions
T2 - The Beratll Merchants in the Eighteenth-Century Ottoman Empire
AU - Artunç, Cihan
PY - 2015/8/27
Y1 - 2015/8/27
N2 - In the eighteenth century, European embassies in the Ottoman Empire started selling exemption licenses called berats, which granted non-Muslim Ottomans tax exemptions and the option to use European law. I construct a novel price panel for British and French licenses based on primary sources. The evidence reveals that prices were significantly high and varied across countries. Agents acquired multiple berats to enhance their legal options, which they exploited through strategic court switching. By the early 1800s, berat holders had driven other groups from European-Ottoman trade.
AB - In the eighteenth century, European embassies in the Ottoman Empire started selling exemption licenses called berats, which granted non-Muslim Ottomans tax exemptions and the option to use European law. I construct a novel price panel for British and French licenses based on primary sources. The evidence reveals that prices were significantly high and varied across countries. Agents acquired multiple berats to enhance their legal options, which they exploited through strategic court switching. By the early 1800s, berat holders had driven other groups from European-Ottoman trade.
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UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84940544751&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1017/S0022050715001059
DO - 10.1017/S0022050715001059
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84940544751
VL - 75
SP - 720
EP - 748
JO - Journal of Economic History
JF - Journal of Economic History
SN - 0022-0507
IS - 3
ER -