The history of pre-industrial Europe shows that public authorities have almost invariably interfered with the urban food supply. In this paper, it is argued that there were sound reasons for such intervention. Fluctuations in supply would – in a free market – inevitably have led to enormous fluctuations in the price of the staple food. The mass of the urban population would not have been able to cope with these price fluctuations and would have demanded effective measures on the part of the authorities.

Theoretically a number of different types of measures can be predicted, and they can all be documented from the historical record. Specific historical circumstances, however, determine which coping strategy will be prevalent. A comparative analysis of Classical antiquity (in particular Imperial Rome) and the cities of late medieval and early modern Europe demonstrates that costs and benefits of particular coping strategies may differ considerably. It also demonstrates that a purely economic analysis is not sufficient. The nature and extent of state power is at least as important, and so are changes in popular expectations.

In the Digression concerning the Corn Trade and Corn Laws in the Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith complains: