Pieces of information and good reasons. The political economy of wheat in XVIII century Sicily
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Abstract
This essay focuses on the interactions between political and economic practices in the construction and the functioning of the exchange of information in the 18th century Sicilian wheat market. The wheat market is here defined as the overall result of the interaction of a number of social institutions that have allowed, for the entire early modern period, to produce and to convey information on the products, their quality and quantity, and their potential purchasers and sellers. The analysis of the actions that occurred in this market revolves on the legitimation, or de-legitimation, of the actors and shows how the "rules of the game" were crafted, followed and infringed. Resources and sanctions were bestowed in a context that could be defined of "moral economy".