Brezis, Elise S. and Kim, Heeho (2009): Was the Korean slave market efficient?
Over the decades, the traditional condemnation of slavery has been based not only on philosophical argumentation and moral values, but also on the conjecture that slavery was inefficient. This position led to one of the most passionate debates in economic history on the efficiency of the US slave market. This question of efficiency has not been analyzed on the slave market in Korea. The aim of this paper is to analyze the efficiency of the Korean slave market by examining the behavior of slave prices during the period 1689-1893. In order to do so, we collected long-run series of slave prices from nationwide surveys of more than 25 public and private historical records. We then tested whether the slave market was efficient using the arbitrage asset equation. We found slavery to have been efficient most of the time.
Hilton, R., (1969), The Decline of Serfdom in Medieval England, London, Macmilan.
Hilton, R., (1973), Bond Men Made Free, London, Methuen.
Han, K., (1982), “A Composition of Classes in the 17th century Danseong Area”, Thesis of MA, Chungnam Univ. Korean
Han, Y., (1977), “A Pattern on Marriage of Slaves in Ulsan, 1609”, Journal of History, Korean
Hong, S., (1981), A Study on Slavery in the Korea Dynasty, Hankook Research Institute, Korean
Jeon, H., (1989), A Study on Status of Slaves in the Chosun Dynasty, Iljokak Pub., Korean
Jeon, H., (1996), “Resistance and Freedom of Slavs in the Chosun Dynasty”, Critiques in History, 34, 325-336, Korean
Jeon, H., (1998), “Pattern of Slavery in the Chosun Dynasty”, edited by Korea History Association in Nobi, Selfdom,Slavery-Comparison of History, Seoul, Ilchokak, 277-303,Korean
Ji, S., (1995), Status of Slaves in the Chosun Dynasty, Iljokak Pub., Korea
Jordan, W., (1968), “Modern Tensions and the Origins of American Slavery”, in Understanding Negro History, edited by D. Hoover, Chicago, 61-64.
Jun, S.H. and JB Lewis, (2005), "Labour Costs, Land Prices and interest rates in the southern Region of Korea", mimeo. Kim, G., (1996), Agricultural Management and Farmers in the 16th-18th Centuries in the Chosun Dynasty, Ph.D. dissertation, SungKyunKwan Univ. Korean
Kim, G., (2004), “A method of study on Private Slaves in the Late Chosun Dynasty”, Yeoksa hakbo 181, 99-129, Korean
Kim, H. and J. Lee, (1998), “A Cyclic Behavior of Price Level in the Chosun Dynasty”, Korean Journal of Money and Finance, 3(2), 33-62., Korean
Kim, H. and J. Lee, (2006), Slavery and Land Ownership in the Chosun Dynasty, Kyungpook National Univ. press, Korean
Kim, Y., (1985), “Wealth of the Landholders in the Chosun Dynasty (I)”, Daegu History, 27, 89-159, Korean
Kim, Y., (1992), “People’s Movements in the 17-18th Centuries of the Chosun Dynasty”, Kuksakwan Review, 37, 135-172., Korean
Kim, Y., (1997), A Study on Private and Public Slaves in the Chosun Dynasty, GibeoDang Pub.,Korean
Kim, Y.S., (1998), “Classes and Slavery in Chinese History”, in Slavery and Serfdom, Seoul, Ilchokak., Korean
Kim, Y.C., (1998), “Status and Slavery in Chinese History”, Chapter 6, edited by Korea History Association, in Nobi, Selfdom, Slavery-Comparison of History, Iljogak, 221-276. Korean
Lee, H., (1996), “Prices of Rice in 1678-1800 in the Chosun Dynasty”, Korean Economic History 21, 117-158. Korean
Lee, J., (1999), “Changes in Land Prices in the 18th – 19th century”, History and Boundary 23, 605-626, Korean Lee, S., (1981), edited, Old Records In Kyungpook Province, Yeongnam Univ.. Korean
Lee, Y. and E. Park, (2004), “National Market Convergence of Rice, 1713-1937”, edited by Y.Lee in The Late Chosun Dynasty by Econometric History, Seoul National Univ. press, 225-250, Korean,
Lee, Y., (1998), “Slavery in Korea”, Chapter 7, edited by Korea History Association, in Nobi,Selfdom, Slavery-Comparison of History, Iljogak, 304-422, Korean
Lee, W. (2001), “Trends of Wage for the Agricultural Sector: 1853-1910”, chapter 5 in Farmers of MatJil , edited by An, B. and Y. Lee, Iljokag pub. 178-204, Korean
Lucas, R.(1978), “Asset Prices in an Exchange Economy”, Econometrica, 46:1426-1445.
Maddison, A., (2001), The World Economy: A Millennial Perspective, Development Center Seminars, OECD.
Mancall, P., J. Rosenbloom and T. Weiss, (2001), "Slaves Prices and the South Carolina Economy 1722-1809", The Journal of Economic History, 61:616-639
Nunn, N. and L. Wantchekon. 2008. "The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and the Evolution of Mistrust in Africa: An Empirical Investigation, mimeo Harvard.
Palais, J., (1996), Confucian Statecraft and Korean Institutions: Yu Hyongwon and the Late Choson Dynasty,, University of Washington Press, 208-270
Park, Y., (1986), A Study on Ruling Class in the Chosun Dynasty, Ph.D. Dissertation, Kyungpook National Univ. press, Korean
Park, Y., (2007), A Study on Social History of Rural Area in the late Chosun Dynasty, Hyean Pub., Korean
Patterson, O., (1982), Slavery and Social Death; A Comparative Study, Harvard University Press, 141-144.
Shikata, H., (1938), “A Study on Population and Classes in the Chosun Korea “, A Review of Law, Kyungseong Imperial University, Japanese
Smith, R., (1983), “Some Thoughts on ‘Hereditary’ and ‘Proprietary’ Rights in land under Customary Law in Thirteenth and Early Fourteenth Century England”, Law of History Review, I, 95-128.
Sutch, R. (1975), “The Treatment Received by American Slaves “, Explorations in Economic History 12:335-438.
Temin, P., (2005), "The Labor Market of the Early Roman Empire", unpublished work
Wright, G., (2006), Slavery and American Economic Development, Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press.
Wright, G., (1975), “Slavery and the Cotton Boom”, Explorations in Economic History, 12(4),439-451.
Yoon, Y., (1998), Slavery and Wage Labor in the late Chosun Dynasty, Seoul National Univ. Press, Korean