Getting real: heuristics in sociological knowledge

Theory and Society - This article examines the connections among heuristics, the epistemological and ontological presuppositions that underlie theorizing, and substantive explanations in sociology....     

The power of negative thinking: The use of negative case methodology in the development of sociological theory

Theory and Society -     

Labor Use and Landlord Control: Sharecropping and Household Structure in Fifteenth-Century Tuscany

The prevalence of large and extended families among sharecroppers in northern and central Italy during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries has been well documented in the historical demographic literature. Landlords relied on tenants' extended household structure to provide a large labor force that increased their income. In earlier centuries, however, landlords' involvement in agricultural production may have had little impact on household structure. Evidence from fifteenth-century Tuscany illustrates that household extension was not as common among sharecroppers during this period of time. Qualitative analyses of personal correspondence and tax declarations from the fifteenth century suggest reasons why landlords' management techniques did not lead to household extension among sharecroppers. Unlike landlords in later periods of time, fifteenth-century landlords relied more on rearranging plots of land than particular demographic practices, because land consolidation was still in progress and farms were not fixed geographically. In addition, during the earlier period of time, sharecropping was less institutionalized and landlords had less power over their tenants. These findings suggest that sharecropping, as a tenurial form, did not necessarily lead to household extension. Instead, the effect of the tenurial form depended on the nature of sharecropping and the degree of landlords' power.     

The Effect of State Transfers on Poverty in Post-Socialist Eastern Europe

During the market transition in Eastern Europe, social support mechanisms shifted from employment-based measures to means-tested ones. This restructuring, along with an overall decrease in social support and economic productivity and an increase in unemployment, meant that these payments were often inadequate to address the large rise in poverty during this period of time. Little research, however, considers whether individual-level payments were effective in reducing poverty. This paper considers the efficacy of these individual-level payments in Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania, using two-wave panel data. It shows that state transfers to individuals reduced their poverty in all these countries. Thus, while the level of payments may have been inadequate to eliminate the adverse effects of the market transition, the payments themselves were beneficial to individuals and reduced their poverty.     

Toward a Sociology of Knowledge of Land Surveys: The Influences of Societies and States

Although land surveys can be viewed as accomplishments of strong states, this paper shows that they are successful not because of state power, but because of two social factors, lay knowledge and the alignment of social interests. Land surveyance is a strategic research site because it is technologically and labor intensive, so it is difficult to complete. The paper uses historical methodologies of comparison and narrative to show that a national land survey was never completed in the case with the strong state, England/Great Britain/the United Kingdom, while such surveys were completed in the cases with the weak states, the United States and Italy. Where the surveys were completed, there was widespread social knowledge about them and support for surveyance.     

The mystery of the missing middle-tenants: The “negative” case of fixed-term leasing and agricultural investment in fifteenth-century Tuscany

Theory and Society -