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Caveat Emptor: Abolishing Public Measurements, Standardizing Quantities and Enhancing Market Transparency in the London Coal Trade c1830
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-08, 05:07 authored by Aashish VelkarThis article evaluates efforts to standardize quantities in the London coal trade c1830, and traces the end of the public measurement system first introduced in the fourteenth century. Increasing traffic in coal, reduction of taxes on the commodity, inefficient public meters, etc., contributed to the demise of public measurements. This outcome was the result of extensive negotiations between merchants, the various levels of state bureaucracy, and the parliament. Switching measurement standards was difficult, if not costly, to coordinate. Abolishing public measurements and switching from volume to weight measurements was part of the efforts to strengthen governance along the commodity chain, secure property rights by making quantities predictable and alter a mechanism that powerful merchants considered had become inappropriate.
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Publication status
- Published
Journal
Enterprise and SocietyISSN
14672235Publisher
Oxford JournalsExternal DOI
Issue
2Volume
9Page range
281-313Pages
33.0Department affiliated with
- Business and Management Publications
Full text available
- No
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Legacy Posted Date
2012-02-06Usage metrics
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