"The Bull is Half the Herd": Property Rights and Enclosures in England, 1750-1850

Elaine Tan ()

No _046, Oxford University Economic and Social History Series from Economics Group, Nuffield College, University of Oxford

Abstract: This paper proposes that one function of the open fields was to reduce the transaction costs of cow-keeping by lowering commoners’ costs of bulling. At enclosure, cow-keeping fell among small owners who, unlike large farmers, had difficulty obtaining bulling services and were not substantial enough to own both the bull and the cow; they were therefore worse off with enclosures. The minimum acreage required to restore cow keepers to their pre-enclosure economic position indicates that even commoners who were given some land at settlement lost out with the change in property rights.

Date: 2002-06-01
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Journal Article: 'The bull is half the herd': property rights and enclosures in England, 1750-1850 (2002)
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