---
entity_slug: taille
evaluator: null
evaluated_at: '2026-02-23T06:28:57.228034'
overall_score: 4.6
scores:
- name: definition_precision
  value: 4.0
  max_value: 5.0
  rationale: The definition clearly specifies the taille as a French land tax based
    on supposed profits from farm stock, with well-articulated perverse incentives.
    It's precise and non-circular, though could benefit from slightly more detail
    about the assessment mechanism.
- name: source_grounding
  value: 5.0
  max_value: 5.0
  rationale: This is directly grounded in Smith's text from Book III, Chapter 2, where
    he explicitly discusses the taille as a problematic French tax system. The description
    of its effects on cultivation and investment aligns closely with Smith's analysis.
- name: domain_placement
  value: 5.0
  max_value: 5.0
  rationale: '"Regulation" is the correct domain placement, as the taille represents
    a specific regulatory mechanism (taxation) that creates systematic economic distortions.
    It fits perfectly within Smith''s broader analysis of how regulatory frameworks
    affect economic behavior.'
- name: vsm_relevance
  value: 4.0
  max_value: 5.0
  rationale: This maps well to S3 (internal regulation/audit) as a regulatory mechanism
    that's supposed to monitor and extract value from economic activity, though it's
    a dysfunctional one. It also touches on S4 concerns about how regulatory systems
    adapt (or fail to adapt) to economic realities.
- name: explanatory_value
  value: 5.0
  max_value: 5.0
  rationale: This entity illuminates a crucial mechanism showing how tax design creates
    systematic incentives that distort economic behavior, serving as a concrete example
    of Smith's broader principles about the relationship between institutional design
    and economic outcomes. It demonstrates structural causation rather than just naming
    a phenomenon.
---

# Evaluation: Taille

## definition_precision — 4.0 / 5.0

The definition clearly specifies the taille as a French land tax based on supposed profits from farm stock, with well-articulated perverse incentives. It's precise and non-circular, though could benefit from slightly more detail about the assessment mechanism.

## source_grounding — 5.0 / 5.0

This is directly grounded in Smith's text from Book III, Chapter 2, where he explicitly discusses the taille as a problematic French tax system. The description of its effects on cultivation and investment aligns closely with Smith's analysis.

## domain_placement — 5.0 / 5.0

"Regulation" is the correct domain placement, as the taille represents a specific regulatory mechanism (taxation) that creates systematic economic distortions. It fits perfectly within Smith's broader analysis of how regulatory frameworks affect economic behavior.

## vsm_relevance — 4.0 / 5.0

This maps well to S3 (internal regulation/audit) as a regulatory mechanism that's supposed to monitor and extract value from economic activity, though it's a dysfunctional one. It also touches on S4 concerns about how regulatory systems adapt (or fail to adapt) to economic realities.

## explanatory_value — 5.0 / 5.0

This entity illuminates a crucial mechanism showing how tax design creates systematic incentives that distort economic behavior, serving as a concrete example of Smith's broader principles about the relationship between institutional design and economic outcomes. It demonstrates structural causation rather than just naming a phenomenon.
