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The Influences Affecting French Assets Abroad Prior to 1914

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 June 2004

ANTOINE PARENT  and
CHRISTOPHE RAULT
ANTOINE PARENT
Affiliation:
Associate Professor of Economics, Université Paris 8, 2 rue de la liberté, 93526 Saint-Denis–Cedex, France Research Associate, MATISSE–Université Paris 1. E-mail: antoine.parent3@wanadoo.fr
CHRISTOPHE RAULT
Affiliation:
Associate Professor of Economics, Université Evry Val d'Essonne, Département d'économie, Boulevard François Mitterrand 91025 Évry-Cedex, France Research Associate, EUREQua–Université Paris 1. E-mail: chrault@hotmail.com, http://www.multimania.com/chrault/index.html.
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Abstract

In this study we show that French foreign investment from the end of the nineteenth century until the eve of the First World War was driven by economic and financial considerations. This refutes the hitherto accepted thesis that French capital exports were motivated by diplomatic and political factors. By using economic modeling that combines microeconomic and econometric approaches, we show that the geographic distribution of French financial flows was consistent with rational economic behavior.

Type
ARTICLES
Information
The Journal of Economic History , Volume 64 , Issue 2 , June 2004 , pp. 328 - 362
Copyright
© 2004 The Economic History Association

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