State Capacity, Fiscal Legibility, and State-Society Relations: Evidence from the French Napoleonic Cadaster

• In Event: Political Power and State Capacity

Brief Overview

How does state-led legibility impact state-society relations? I show that the Napoleonic cadaster reduced overt resistance to the state. It did so by reinforcing central control over local communities rather than making the fiscal system fairer.

Author

• Anne Degrave, New York University