Settlement

The Settlement Act of 1662 was an attempt to stop the Gaming of the Poor Law-s. It had the Side Effect of disrupting the flow of labor (Market Distortion), locking people in Poverty.

http://www.victorianweb.org/history/poorlaw/settle.html

Adam Smith wrote about it.

http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/town/terrace/adw03/peel/poorlaw/plaa.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poor_Law