Redemptioner Immigration to Pennsylvania: Evidence on Contract Choice and Profitability
研究了18世纪末宾夕法尼亚移民融资方式从契约奴役向赎身制的演变，通过补偿差异解释契约选择，估算赎身移民运输的回报率并与违约率比较，探讨违约风险及家庭间风险分担。
The evolution from indentured to redemptioner servitude as a means of financing immigration to late eighteenth-century Pennsylvania is documented. The compensating differences between methods are used to explain contract choice. The rate of return to shipping redemptioners is estimated and compared with the default rate needed to make it a competitive return. The expected incidence of defaults and the implications for risk pooling among families and risk spreading across voyages are investigated.