ECONOMIC HISTORY DURING THE TRANSITION FROM THE MUGHAL ERA

TO THE COLONIAL ERA

Under the Supervision of

Dr. Nazima Munshi

(Assistant Professor of History)

Submitted by

Name: Bhargavi G Iyer

Roll No.: A026

BA LLB(Hons) 2019-24
 Economic History during the Transition from Mughal Era to the Colonial Era

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Abstract
2. Introduction
3. Literature Review
a. Books
b. Articles
4. The Study of the Transition of the Indian Economy from the Mughal Era to the
Colonial Era
5. Case Studies
6. Comparative Studies
7. Conclusion
8. Bibliography
 ABSTRACT

A country’s significance in history is often determined by its economic prosperity and

proliferation of its trade. India has been a thriving economy throughout the course of history,
with a share of over 20% of the world’s GDP over the centuries. It has held a strategic
position geographically, politically, as well as economically. Under the rule of various
governing entities, namely the Mughal rulers, the East India Company, and the British
Crown, Indian trade and economy underwent numerous reforms and changes, and so did the
laws governing them. India was a predominantly agrarian economy under the Mughal
monarchs, between the 16th and 18th century. Imperial orders and edicts in the form of
farmans sensitised the general public of the trade policies and laws established by the ruler. A
well-developed system of finance and credit, as well as a practically standardized system of
weights and measures, was in place. Various transit dues, cesses, customs, duties, and
imposts were periodically imposed and subsequently abolished by prominent rulers such as
Sher Shah Suri and Akbar, in order to facilitate trade. The East India Company, and later, the
British Crown, also formulated certain laws for the regulation of trade in India during the
colonial era, an example being the Navigation Act of 1663. The British brought about major
changes in the realm of taxation, and had created an institutional environment that guaranteed
property rights among the colonisers, promoted free trade, formalised a single currency with
fixed exchange rates, and introduced a common law. This research project hopes to explore
and examine the effects of the transition from Mughal era to the Colonial era, on the Indian
economy and policies pertaining to trade. The project aspires to study the diversity of the
Indian economy in a systematic manner, while analyzing the legal implications of the
transition.

Keywords- Mughal, East India Company, taxation, laws, economy, policies, trade.
 INTRODUCTION

An economy can be defined as the state of a country or region in terms of the production and
consumption of goods and services and the supply of money. 1 According to Black’s Law
Dictionary, economy is the management or administration of the wealth and resources of a
community (such as a city, state, or country); or the socio-political organization of a
community's wealth and resources.2 Economic history is the study of the development of
societies in the past with respect to economic aspects and phenomena.

In the prehistoric era, humans were predominantly hunters and gatherers, collecting natural
resources and utilising them for survival.3 The transactions made by humans were primarily
with nature. Thus, the economy prevalent in the prehistoric period is said to be a collectional
economy. With the coming of the Neolithic Age (6,000 BC to 1,000 BC) of the Stone Age,
cultivation of plants and domestic animals began to be practiced, leading to the development
of human civilisation. Certain tribes began to specialise in the collection or cultivation of one
particular commodity, which led to the process of exchange and barter.4 History has
subsequently witnessed the rise and fall of various types of economies, such as the cultural
nomadic economy, the settled village economy, town economy, and eventually, the
metropolitan economy.

Economic history emerged as an academic discipline in Western Europe and North America,
specifically, in Britain, Germany, and the United States. “Economic history” was first
mentioned as the title of the book by a German scholar, Von Inama-Sternegg, published in
1877 and 1879. The first academic appointment in economic history went to a British scholar,
William Ashley, in Harvard University, in 1892. 5 Early economic historians mainly studied
the general economic development or specific sectors and processes, especially agriculture,
commerce, and industrialization.

1
https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/economy (Saturday, August 24, 2019, 15.35 pm)
2
Black's Law Dictionary, Bryan A. Garner, 9th edition, West Publishing Co., 2009
3
http://communitybooks.worldlibrary.org/members.4/oca/i/introtoeconomich00grasiala.pdf (Sunday, August 25,
2019, 13.13 pm)
4
https://www.toppr.com/guides/general-knowledge/ancient-indian-history/pre-historic-period/ (Sunday, August
25, 2019, 16.17 pm)
5
https://www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences-and-law/economics-business-and-labor/economics-terms-and-
concepts/economic-history (Saturday, August 24, 2019, 15.43 pm)
 LITERATURE REVIEW

BOOKS

Name of the Book: The Agrarian System of Mughal India 1556-1707

Author: Irfan Habib

Edition: Third Edition

Publication: Oxford India Paperbacks, India, 2014

Chapter: II Trade in Agricultural Produce-1. Long-distance Trade

This book emphasises that in order to study the history of an agrarian economy such as India,
it is necessary to understand the organisation and consider the value of agricultural produce in
the market and assess its trade practices accordingly. The author takes into account the fact
that the obvious limitations to long distance trade was transportation, and believes the
transportation cost, be it by road, river, or sea, was an important factor to consider.

Another factor that is assigned utmost importance is transit dues. Imperial orders issued by
the emperors declared all imposts such as baj, tamgha, and zakat, were abolished entirely or
with exceptions, resulting in the possible elimination of some tolls and taxes. This was not
completely effective, as duties continued to be collected illegally, or were authorised
contradicting with an abolition. Various tolls and cesses were also exacted by authorities in
charge of the routes. The maintenance of law and order also played a vital role in shaping the
economic history. The administration was held responsible for protection on the routes.

A well-developed system of finance and credit was also in place, with the widespread use of
hundis or bills of exchange. A prevalent system of insurance covered the risks of losses and
incidence of taxes in transit. It is worth highlighting that long-distance trade is feasible only if
the price difference in the markets is wide enough to accommodate transport costs. Various
goods such as indigo, opium, pepper, tobacco, and silk, were exported and imported on the
basis of the same.

Thus, it can be said that this book explores the various aspects that are to be considered when
studying the economic history of the agrarian economy that was India during the transition
from the Mughal Era to the Colonial Era.
Name of the Book: The Cambridge Economic History of India Volume 2 c. 1757 – c.
1970

General Editors: Dharma Kumar and Tapan Raychaudhuri

Link: http://www.hkrdb.kar.nic.in/documents/Downloads/Good%20Reads/The
%20Cambridge%20Economic%20History%20of%20India,%20Volume%202.pdf
(August 12, 2019, 19.43 pm)

Chapter: The Mid-Eighteenth-Century Background (Pg. 3 to Pg. 15)

The book discusses the fact that the Mughal empire had established political and economic
unity across the Indian subcontinent through various policies and administrative measures.
The mid-eighteenth century however saw a deterioration in the economic conditions and
shrinking of the empire due to invasions by Abdali, looting and plundering of Delhi by Nadir
Shah, severing of Rajput and Afghan ties, rising power of the Marathas, war and anarchy.
Artisans and manufacturers began to move in large numbers to secure their livelihood,
causing Delhi and other metropolises therefore to become deserted. Corruption further
disrupted the administrative efficiency. The Imperial decline was somewhat neutralised by
the coming up of new provincial kingdoms, industries and trade centres. The economic
decline was more acute in the west than in the east. The jajmani system in the seventeenth
and eighteenth centuries based the organisation of trade and manufacturing on hereditary
occupation. Revenues were collected as per what was fixed according to law and imperial
regulations. The zamindars had become crucial in the process of revenue extraction. The
rights of sale, transfer and mortgage depending on the growth of a land market were more
articulate in the agrarian system of the north than in the south. By the eighteenth century, the
development of market forces had permeated into the nature of subsistence of agriculture.
Farming and trade became mutually interrelated. Due to commercialisation, the acreage of
crops like indigo, sugarcane, tobacco and maize, can be said to have increased. Assessing the
history of the Indian economy during the mid-eighteenth century, the author believes that the
Mughal empire contributed significantly to improving the economic conditions, and with the
decline of the Mughal empire, came the gradual decline of the economy on the whole.
ARTICLES

Title of the Article: No, Mughals didn’t loot India. They made us rich.

Author: Rana Safvi

Link: https://www.dailyo.in/politics/mughals-contribution-indian-economy-rich-
culture-tourism-british/story/1/19549.html (August 11, 2019, 23.31pm)

According to the author, all conquests cannot be said to be colonisation. Colonisation can be
elucidated as governance of a land and its people, on behalf of a community of people
inhabiting a distant land, chiefly for the economic benefits. Despite being foreign by origin,
the Mughals had integrated themselves, and identified themselves as inhabitants of India.

After the foundation of the Mughal empire was laid in 1526 AD, most rulers married in
Indian families, especially Rajputs, and also appointed them at high posts. This integration
led to a building up of loyalty, thus leading Bahadur Shah Zafar to be seen as a leader during
the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857. Till the 18th century, the Mughal empire was the richest and most
prosperous in the world, as observed by many travellers and merchants. Trade was facilitated
and encouraged by the emperors in many ways, such as abolition of inland tolls, construction
of roads, ports, and developing of sea routes. Various manufactured goods were exported.

The Hindu merchant class was observed to have controlled trade, while Muslims held
administrative posts. With an efficient administrative system, trade and commerce flourished
in the country, which led the British to seek trade concessions from the Mughals, and
eventually gain control of the empire.

Thus, it was the British East India Company that can be said to have drained India of its
wealth, and not the Mughal empire, which made it more prosperous. In the 18th century,
under the Mughals, India had overtaken China as the largest economy in the world with a
GDP share of 24.44% contribution to that of the world.

The Mughals primarily invested in arts, crafts, literature, and architecture, thus contributing
to the sector of tourism which thrives even today. History cannot be a generalisation,
especially on communal lines, with respect to the Mughals. The article iterates that social
conditions of the Mughal era reveal that it was a society progressing politically,
economically, and culturally.
Title of the Article: Great Bengal famine of 1770

Author: World Heritage Encyclopaedia

Link: http://ezproxy.svkm.ac.in:2375/Articles/Bengal%20famine%20of%201770?
&Words=bengal%20famine%201770 (September 3, 2019, 09.13 am)

The article primarily discusses the Great Bengal Famine, which lasted from 1769 to 1773,
affecting the lower Gangetic plain of India. It was an important event in the economic history
during the transition from the Mughal Era to the Colonial Era. 10 million casualties were
estimated. The famine occurred as a result of forced cultivation of opium, which led to an
acute shortage in food grains for the local people. The geographical area encompassing
Bengal was ruled by a nawab or governor under the Mughal empire in the sixteenth century.
After the weakening of the Mughal empire in the eighteenth century, the nawab became
independent of Mughal authority. Initially having been given a grant of the town of Calcutta
by the Mughal Prince Shah Shuja, the East India Company went on to obtaining sole trade
rights and grew as a dominant power in Bengal. After their victories at the Battle of
Plassey(1757) and Battle of Buxar(1764), on gaining Diwani rights, the East India Company
became the de facto ruler in Bengal.

The famine can be said to have been created and aggravated by the policies of the British
East India Company. The objective of the company was to enhance profits, which was now
possible through land tax as well as trade tariffs in Bengal, which were increased
indiscriminately. The forced cultivation of opium and indigo instead of food crops, and the
prohibition of hoarding of rice, prevented the population from having reserves to fall back on
during the famine.

The company and its agents had, by then, established monopolies, and were disinterested in
dealing with the grain shortage. Suffering financially, it influenced the Parliament to pass the
Tea Act in 1773 to increase import duties on the shipping of tea. Thus, the article draws the
inference that the East India Company’s policies continued to raise its profits, while
economically draining the country, contributing immensely to the acceleration of the Great
Bengal Famine of 1770.
 THE STUDY OF THE TRANSITION OF THE INDIAN

ECONOMY FROM THE MUGHAL ERA TO THE COLONIAL ERA

Tracing the history of the Indian economy during the rule of the Mughal Empire, it is
noticeable that India was a flourishing agrarian economy. Its trade and commerce were
primarily based on agriculture. The main economic factors that can be taken into
consideration as a part of the study are taxation and revenue, customs and duties levied on
import and export, and the types of businesses prevalent.

During the more prosperous times of the Mughal rule, a uniform revenue policy, a network of
inland trade, and incentives to expanding overseas commerce created an economically
stimulating environment. Prices remained stable and similar. Subsistence agriculture was
widespread and sustained the economic isolation in all regions except for those that were
most commercialised. In all, the Mughal empire imperially unified, and thus strengthened the
economic links of India, connecting its territories, and encouraging commerce and
production.

The mid-eighteenth century saw the economic decline of the Mughal empire, owing to
various factors such as the deterioration of Rajput alliances due to the wars waged by
Aurangzeb, the plundering and looting of Delhi by the Persian Emperor, Nadir Shah, repeated
invasions by Ahmad Shah Abdali, fragmentation of the empire, administrative inefficiency,
and the political weakening of the Mughal monarchy.

On the other hand, the British East India Company, established in 1600, began to make
ventures in the trade of cotton and silk piece goods, indigo, saltpetre, and spices from South
India, overcoming stiff competition from the Portuguese, Dutch, French and the Spanish. 6
Defeating the Portuguese, they had been granted trade concessions from the Mughal Empire,
thus facilitating proliferation of their trade and commerce. A series of enactments of policies
and acts ensued, thus gradually establishing the monopoly of the East India Company.

With the signing of the Treaty of Allahabad on 12 th August, 1765, that gave Diwani rights, or
the right to collect taxes, to the British 7, the transition of the Mughal Era to the British

6
https://www.britannica.com/topic/East-India-Company (Monday, September 2, 2019, 17.16 pm)
7
https://knappily.com/onthisday/treaty-of-allahabad-shah-alam-robert-clive-499 (Monday, September 2, 2019,
20.37 pm)
Colonial Era, was effectuated. Thereon, India saw a steep dip in GDP, industrialisation,
exploitation, famine, and many other drastic economic changes.

CASE STUDIES

Bitcoin Ponzi Scheme Case

Bitcoin, also known as cryptocurrency or digital currency, is a virtual form of money. 8 The
draft of the Banning of Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill 2019
has proposed 10 years of imprisonment for persons who "mine, generate, hold, sell, transfer,
dispose of, issue or deal in cryptocurrencies". 9
Due to increased possibility of
cryptocurrencies being misused, various government bodies such as the Income Tax
Department and the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) had endorsed
banning of cryptocurrencies.

10
A Ponzi scheme is an investment swindle in which some early investors are paid off with
money put up by later ones in order to encourage more and bigger risks. Ponzi schemes
require an initial investment and assure above average returns without any risk.

After a petition by investor Zakhil Suresh on change.org. garnered support, a series of FIRs
were filed at Dattawadi Police Station, by the Pune Police, and at Nigdi Police Station
respectively. 11
A complaint was also lodged by Tarun Kumar. On 31 March, 2019, Amit
Bhardwaj was arrested at Bangkok. Pune Police Cyber Cell brought Amit Bhardwaj to Pune
and arrested 8 other accused on 5 April, 2018. Subsequently, the ED registered its first
enforcement case investigation report against Gainbitcoin and other entities under the
Prevention of Money Laundering Act in Mumbai.

Cybercrime cell of Chandigarh police booked Amit Bhardwaj and 5 others in May 2018, and
the Dattawadi police station & Nigdi police station investigation teams, Pune, filed 2 separate
8
https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/25622442 (Tuesday, September 3, 2019, 22.30 pm)
9
https://gadgets.ndtv.com/internet/news/bitcoin-ban-india-cryptocurrency-law-10-year-jail-
2049939 (Tuesday, September 3, 2019, 22.17 pm)
10
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Ponzi%20scheme (Tuesday, September 3,
22.54 pm)
11
https://inc42.com/buzz/breaking-supreme-court-grants-bail-to-amit-bhardwaj-in-bitcoin-
ponzi-scheme/ (Tuesday, September 3, 2019, 22.51 pm)
chargesheets in June 2018. In July 2018, the Chandigarh police filed chargesheets, and the
Chandigarh District Court rejected Amit Bhardwaj's bail plea in August 2018. The
Directorate of Enforcement attached immovable properties & bank balances worth Rupees
42.88 crores owned by Amit Bhardwaj & his accomplices.

In September 2018, Amit Bhardwaj and Vivek Bhardwaj filed bail plea at Supreme Court on
health grounds, requesting to club all the 12 cases against them, and the Supreme Court
subsequently asked Bhardwaj to submit medical reports, setting the next hearing to April 3,
2019; on which date Amit Bhardwaj and his brother received interim bail.

Around 8000 people have been said to have invested in various companies under the scheme,
failing to get their returns.

Subrata Chattoraj vs Union Of India & Ors

The Supreme Court bench consisting of Justice T S Thakur and C Nagappan, observed that
the case at hand dealt with writ petitions concerning a major financial scam nicknamed ‘Chit
Fund Scam’ affecting lakhs of depositors across several States in the Eastern parts of this
country. 12
Affidavits and status reports filed in the proceedings revealed that the said scam
involved collection of nearly 10,000 crores from the general public, especially the weaker
sections of the society which have fallen prey to the temptations of handsome returns on such
deposits extended by the companies involved in the scam.

Article 32, 226, and 245 of the Indian Constitution, along with Delhi Special Police
Establishment Act, 1946; Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992; Companies Act,
1956; Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934; Income-Tax Act, 1961; Prize Chits and Money
Circulation Schemes Banning Act 1978, etc. were invoked.13

Investigation conducted suggested that the collection of money from the depositors was
neither legally permissible nor were such collections/deposits invested in any meaningful
business activity that could generate the high returns/promised to the depositors. More than
25 lac claims had been received by the Commissions of Enquiries set up in the States of
Odisha and West Bengal, which was indicative of the magnitude of scam in terms of number
of citizens that have been defrauded by the Ponzi companies, which had inter-state
ramifications.

12
https://indiankanoon.org/doc/7781654/ (Friday, August 23, 07.05 am)
13
Subrata Chattoraj vs. Union of India (UOI) and Ors. (2014) 8 SCC 768
The role of regulators like SEBI, authorities under the Companies Act and the Reserve Bank
of India was also under scrutiny by the State Police Agency. The bench, on 9th May 2014,
thus allowed all the petitions seeking direct transfer of various cases registered in different
police stations in the State of West Bengal and Odisha from the State Police Agency to the
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

COMPARATIVE STUDIES

$17 Million Akron-based Ponzi Scheme

According to law enforcement officials, five people were sentenced to prison for their roles in
a conspiracy to defraud about 70 investors out of approximately USD $17 million. 14 Kenneth
Grant, Thomas Abdallah, Jerry Cicolani, Jeffrey Gainer and Mark George were sentenced to
prison respectively. Kelly Hood, was sentenced to one year of home confinement followed by
probation.

Collectively, the defendants were also ordered to repay more than $17 million in restitution.
All six accused previously pleaded guilty to charges related to the case. the defendants used
the investors’ money for personal expenditures and luxury items including a Mercedes Benz,
a boat and mortgage payments on high-end residential property, according to court
documents.

The defendants defrauded the investors out of approximately $17 million as a result of the
conspiracy. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mark S. Bennett and M.
Kendra Klump following an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Internal
Revenue Service—Criminal Investigations; in accordance to Section 523 of the Bankruptcy
Code.

Federal Trade Commission v. Vemma Nutrition Company

The main characteristic of a pyramid scheme is that participants only make money by
recruiting more members. 15
That is what makes it slightly different from a Ponzi scheme. A

14
https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndoh/pr/five-people-sentenced-prison-defrauding-investors-
out-17-million (Wednesday September 4, 2019, 00.31 am)
15
https://money.howstuffworks.com/pyramid-scheme1.htm (Thursday, September 5, 2019,
03.36 am)
pyramid scheme is similar to a Ponzi scheme given the fact that it is mathematically
impossible for a pyramid scheme to be profitable to everyone involved in it.

Vemma Nutrition Company, an Arizona-based dietary supplement MLM that visited college
campuses recruiting students into what the FTC labelled a pyramid scheme, reached a $238
million judgment with the agency that bans recruitment-focused business practices. On
August 7, 2015, the Fedral Trade Commission, also known as the FTC, filed a lawsuit against
Vemma, its CEO Benson K. Boreyko and top distributors Tom and Bethany Alkazin, seeking
permanent injunction against VemmaInternational Holdings. 16
It was successful in obtaining
a temporary restraining order, which shut the company and froze its assets. The case affirmed
that the FTC alleged that the BournLaw standards, which required emphasis on sale to
ultimate users, were not being followed by Vemma, which led to it being a pyramid scheme.

Under the federal court orders, Vemma, Boreyko, and Tom Alkazin are banned from
promoting any business ventures that pay any compensation to members for recruiting new
participants, tie members’ compensation to their own purchases of goods or services,
compensate members if a majority of their revenues come from sales to other distributors.
The court orders also prohibit them from making deceptive income claims and
unsubstantiated health claims, and requires the company to provide compliance reports by an
independent auditor for the next 20 years.

The $238 million judgment will be partially suspended upon payment of $470,136 and the
surrender of certain real estate and business assets. A requirement of the order is that Boreyko
must turn over assets including a residence in Arizona, vacant land, and a golf cart. Vemma
had to turn over two motorcycles, a massage chair, and its art collection. The Alkazins are
ordered to pay about $6.8 million, which were to be partially suspended upon payment of
$1.2 million and the surrender of certain assets.

CONCLUSION

16
https://www.truthinadvertising.org/vemma-pay-millions-settlement-ftc/ (Thursday,
September 5, 03.24 am)
One can infer from a study of the economic history of India during the transition from the
Mughal Era to the Colonial Era, that there was an overall decline in the economy due to
various factors. The Great Bengal Famine of 1770, the Battle of Buxar, the signing of the
Treaty of Allahabad, were a few significant events in the given course of time. The
indifference of the British having played a major role in causing the Bengal Famine, the
damage to the economy could have been mitigated if not for the policies of the East India
Company.

Recommendation

Considering the analysis of cases of Ponzi schemes, Ponzi schemes and other scams can be
said to have a negative impact on the economic growth of a nation. With a reasonable degree
of diligence and care, as well as suitable legislation, the effect of Ponzi schemes could be
significantly reduced.

Future Scope

The future scope of economic history lies in its utility in the present. An analysis of past
economic trends can be used analogously in order to ascertain the patterns of growth of an
economy in the future.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books
1. The Agrarian System of Mughal India 1556-1707, by Irfan Habib, 2014
2. The Cambridge Economic History of India Volume 2 c. 1757 – c. 1970, edited by
Dharma Kumar and Tapan Raychaudhuri
(http://www.hkrdb.kar.nic.in/documents/Downloads/Good%20Reads/The
%20Cambridge%20Economic%20History%20of%20India,%20Volume%202.pdf)
3. An Introduction to Economic History, by N. S. B. Gras
(http://communitybooks.worldlibrary.org/members.4/oca/i/introtoeconomich00grasial
a.pdf)
4. Black's Law Dictionary, 9th edition, by Bryan A. Garner, 2009
Articles
1. https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/economy
2. https://www.historytoday.com/archive/what-economic-history
3. https://www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences-and-law/economics-business-and-
labor/economics-terms-and-concepts/economic-history
4. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-349-19161-1_4
5. https://www.toppr.com/guides/general-knowledge/ancient-indian-history/pre-historic-
period/
6. https://www.britannica.com/topic/East-India-Company
7. http://www.ggdc.net/maddison/articles/moghul_3.pdf
8. https://knappily.com/onthisday/treaty-of-allahabad-shah-alam-robert-clive-499
9. https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/25622442
10. https://gadgets.ndtv.com/internet/news/bitcoin-ban-india-cryptocurrency-law-10-year-
jail-2049939
11. http://ezproxy.svkm.ac.in:2059/pers/Personalized.aspx
12. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Ponzi%20scheme
13. https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndoh/pr/five-people-sentenced-prison-defrauding-
investors-out-17-million
14. https://www.cleveland.com/court-justice/2016/10/
six_sentenced_to_prison_in_17_1.html
15. https://money.howstuffworks.com/pyramid-scheme1.htm
16. https://www.truthinadvertising.org/vemma-pay-millions-settlement-ftc/
 Journals
1. Chester W. Wright, The Nature and Objectives of Economic History, Journal of
Political Economy, Vol. 46, No. 5 (Oct., 1938), pp. 688-701 (14 pages), Published by:
The University of Chicago Press