Availabledataonthefrequenciesofescap,coveringfourprovincesinChinain1935,revealsthattheescapeclause（asincontractsamplesaandc）wasadoptedin83percentofthecrop（fixed）rentcontracts,63percentofthecash（fixed）rentcontract,andnotatallinsharecontracts.[10]Thehigh,themarketpriceofagriculturalyieldwillrise,andwithcashrentthetenantsinewillbepensatedbytheriseinpricemorethanwithcroprent;hence,theescapeclausewillbelesspreferabletothetenant.
Theexistenceoftheescapeclauseinthemarketimplies,otherthingsbeingequal,,beforetheagrarianreforms,,however,,inpart,,thefermiersoftheFrenchmetayage,theescapeclauseassociatedwithfixedrentsinChina,andtheminimumguaranteesassociatedwithsharerentselsewherearemarketpracticesthatservea,tionIdonotseektoanswer.
TurningtosamplecontractsofsharerentsinChina,wefindthattheirstipulationsaremoreplexthanthoseoffixedrents,owingtotheaddedstipulationsontenantinputsandcropstobegrown.
Sampled-sharecontractwithuniformsharingpercentagesforallcrops（ShantungProvince）：
TenantAagreestocultivate[somanymows][somanyhead]ofwaterbuffalo,[somanybodies]ofmen;andeveryyearthetenantmustcultivatewheatonce,Indiancornthreetimes,[incertainproportions].Theyieldsofallcropsaretobeshared[incertainproportions].Theleasemayterminateonlyaftertheautumnharvest.[11]
Samplee-sharecontractwithvaryingsharingpercentages（HonanProvince）：
[Stipulationsoflandsizeandnonlandinputs]……Weherebystipulatethatthewheatyieldwillbesplit20-80；millet,yellowbeans,sesame,greenbean-allwillbesplit30-70；cottonandsweetpotatoessplit50-50……；milletstraws,andbeanandsesamestalkssplit30-70.[12]
Samplef-sharecontractwithsomeproductsunshared（HonanProvince）：
TenantA……voluntarilyagreestofurnish[somany]men,[somanyhead]ofwaterbuffaloanddonkeys……andallplowingequipment……Weclearlystipulatethatseedsofmajorcropsaretobeprovidedbythelandowner,,indryandcleanform……Butthestrawsgotothe[tenants]waterbuffaloentirely;thedroppingsgotothe[landowners]soil;……[bythelandowner],[13]
Forsharecontracts,,theexplicitstipulationsoftenantinputsandcropplantationsareimpliedbythetheoryofsharetenancy（seechapter2）.[14]Evidenceindicates,however,thatonlytheactualyieldsareinspected,forbyparisonwithadjacentfarmsorpastexperiencethelandownerwillbeabletodecidewhetherthecontractedtermshavebeenfulfilled:
Theabsenteelandlordssendtheiragents,orgothemselves,tothefieldsandestimateth……[Thetenant]monlycheatsbyskilfullyhidingsomeofthethreshedgrain,ftenhastobribehiminordertokeepthelandforcultivationanotheryear.[15]
Exaggeratedasthisquotationmightbe,anintramarginaltenantwithspecificfarmingknowledge（hence,withhigheryieldsthanmarginaltenants）can”hide”asmuchastherentimputedtohisspecialskillandstillretainhistenancy;anagentcancollectenforcementcostin”bribes”,thisjustifiesmyclaimthattransactioncostishigherforasharecontractthanforfixedrent.
Asecondcharacteristicofsharecontractsisthatthepreciseandattimesplexdelineationofresourcerightsbetweenthecontractingpartiessuggeststhatthesharingofinvestmentinputscan,inchapter2：Thelandownermayeitherrequirethetenanttoinvestmoreinlandandchargealowerrentalpercentage,orthealannuity.