Debt peonage in postbellum Georgia

Descriptions of the postbellum South vary. Farmers either were postharvest debt peons, were subject to "seasonal credit peonage" to a monopolistic store, or relied on seasonal credit from stores that faced spatial competition. Analysis of Georgia Agricultual Departmenta data shows that postharvest debt peonage was not a major problem in the 1880s. Most other results are consistent with both monopolistic and competitive views of the stores. Increases in income reduced indebtedness; and reliance on purchased supplies increased the likelihood of indebtedness and of future reliance on purchased supplies. Past reliance on purchased supplies, however, did not affect the crop mix.