Anthropologie économique du patrimoine

Abstract

The Economic Anthropology of Inheritance This article deals with the anthropological underpinnings of neoclassical models of the transmission of estates. Made up of family enterprises, agriculture is especially concerned with the objectives and conditions of the accumulation and transmission of patrimony. After emphasizing the difficulty of defining patrimony independently of savings and capital, this article examines the various formalizations of altruistic behaviors, in particular within the Family Economy. Certain models propose that inheritance is a means of paying for services rendered by potential heirs, or else a residue resulting from uncertainty about the time of death. As currently formulated, these models reflect the sociological context used in drawing them up. Inheritance practices, depending on whether or not they take into account human capital, effect a compensation or reinforcement of inequality among offspring. The quest for optimal practices encounters a difficulty related to external effects whenever the share received by the spouse enters into consideration. In conclusion, the partial nature of the proposed models is emphasized along with the limits imposed by the individualistic postulate underlying the neoclassical approach.