Merchant networks and profits on merchant capital in the Mediterranean (Majorca, 18th century)
本文以18世纪马略卡岛为例，研究商人网络如何通过降低不确定性影响商人资本利润率，并指出网络控制使大商人得以多元化投资于地产、税收承包和公共供应合同。
This paper considers the relationship between merchant networks and the rate of profit on merchant capital (RPMC), that is, the ratio of net profit to investment. A case study focusing on Majorca in the eighteenth century shows how merchants built up their personal networks in order to gather information and reduce the uncertainty of maritime business. The rate of profit is an additional indicator of the strength of ties and the need to diversify investments by incorporating estate and tax farming, as well as public supply contracts, all of which was only possible through the control that networks bestowed on big merchants.