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# Engrossers and Forestallers

## Definition

Medieval economic regulations prohibiting merchants from buying goods before they reached market (forestalling) or from accumulating large stocks to control prices (engrossing), representing attempts to prevent market manipulation that Smith argues actually obstruct efficient commerce.

## Source Chapter

Book III, Chapter 2

## Context

Smith identifies these laws as part of the "ancient policy of Europe" that discouraged agricultural improvement by restricting the inland commerce of farm produce, arguing they prevented the development of efficient distribution networks and price discovery mechanisms essential for modern agricultural markets.

## Economic Domain

Regulation

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