Trade, Slavery, and State Coercion of Labor: Egypt During the First Globalization Era

Mohamed Saleh

No 14542, CEPR Discussion Papers from Centre for Economic Policy Research

Abstract: Ample evidence indicates that labor coercion could rise during trade booms. I investigate the effects of trade when there are dual coercive institutions---slavery and state coercion---and when one system is selectively abolished. Whereas wealthy employers could purchase slaves, only the political elite could use state violence to coerce local labor. Employing novel data from Egypt, I document that the cotton boom in 1861--1865 increased imported slaveholdings among the rural middle class, and state coercion of the peasantry by the elite. Slavery abolition in 1877 did not impact state coercion, but increased the labor cost facing the rural middle class.

Keywords: Slavery; State coercion; Trade; Abolition; Intra-elite conflict (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F16 J47 N35 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022-07
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ara, nep-his and nep-int
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Journal Article: Trade, Slavery, and State Coercion of Labor: Egypt during the First Globalization Era (2024)
Working Paper: Trade, slavery, and state coercion of labor: Egypt during the first globalization era (2024)
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