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The French Revolution and the Politics of Government Finance, 1770–1815

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 March 2009

Eugene Nelson White
Eugene Nelson White
Affiliation:
Professor of Economics at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08903 and a Research Associate of the NBER.
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Abstract

Although largely neglected in most histories of the French Revolution, the central government’s persistent budget deficit was a factor of paramount importance. The fiscal crisis inherited from the monarchy defied solution because of the war of attrition fought by economic interest groups. The struggle produced radical changes in macroeconomic policy to shift the burden of adjustment, altering the course of and prolonging the Revolution.

Information

Type
Papers Presented at the Forty-Fourth Annual Meeting of the Economic History Association
Information
The Journal of Economic History , Volume 55 , Issue 2 , June 1995 , pp. 227 - 255
Copyright
Copyright © The Economic History Association 1995

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