Examines the way economic historians have approached two sets of problems. Should the French economy in 18th and 19th centuries be considered "retarded", or an early European development success, and, should economic performance be explained by material conditions, or in social terms.

Inhalt
Introduction - the outlines of a debate; the performance of the French economy; natural resources and the labour supply; capital and technical progress; an agricultural revolution?; "the call of the markets" - the pressure of demand in the French economy; social and institutional influences on development.