Before 1804, France was strictly divided in terms of legal regimes: a part was under Roman civil law while the majority of the territory was under customary laws which, as with common law, gave more flexibility to judges and fewer rights to the state. This dichotomy offers the unique opportunity...

The economic analysis of ancient law assumes that neither human nature nor the fundamental problems of economic organization were substantially different in ancient times than they are today. Given those assumptions, ancient social organization, including ancient law, can be analysed in economic...