The Prudent Village: Risk Pooling Institutions in Medieval English Agriculture
反驳了McCloskey关于中世纪英格兰农民因缺乏风险分担制度而分散土地的观点，发现存在兄弟会和习惯性济贫法两种合作社，通过互惠预期帮助遭遇歉收的农民。
The prudent peasant mitigated the risk of crop failures by scattering his arable land throughout his village, Deirdre McCloskey argued, because alternative risk-sharing institutions did not exist. But, alternatives did exist, this essay concludes. Medieval English peasants formed two types of farmers' cooperatives. Fraternities protected members from the perils of everyday life. Customary poor laws redistributed resources towards villagers beset by bad luck. In both institutions, the expectation of reciprocation motivated farmers with surpluses to aid neighbors with shortages.