19th-Century French Economics

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Reading Les Misérables, I noticed two things:

  1. Maruis rented his flat for 30 francs a year.

  2. Jean Valjean “bought” Cosette for 1500 francs.

Now, Marius’ apartment was undeniable a hovel, but considering that Jean Valjean still payed 50X 1 year’s rent for her, he must have parted with a tidy sum.

Now, to get a handle on how much money Jean V. blew on Cosette, I employed two economic models. I call on you, Teeming Millions, to tell me which (if either) model is correct.

MODEL A: The Exchange Rate Model

The current exchange rate is around six francs to the dollar. Therefore, Marius’ place cost about five bucks a year, in 1832 dollars. JV, therefore, paid $250 (50 X 5) for Cosette. $250 in 1832 would be worth at least a few thousand today. Ergo, JV paid about $4000 for Cosette.

MODEL B: The Cost of Living Model

A ratty apartment in The Hood these days will go for about $200/mo (in my town, anyway). For a year, that would be $2400. 50 X 2400 = 120,000. Ergo, JV blew about 120,000 on Cosette.

Which model (if either) is correct?

2

Neither, cause since then the cost of living has gone down while the value of labour has gone up. You can’t really make a direct comparison.