Roots of the Industrial Revolution

Abstract

We analyze factors explaining the very different patterns of industrialization across the 42 counties of England between 1760 and 1830. Against the widespread view that high wages and cheap coal drove industrialization, we find that industrialization was restricted to low wage areas, while energy availability (coal or water) had little impact Instead we find that industrialization can largely be explained by two factors related to the human capability of the labour force. Instead of being composed of landless labourers, successful industrializers had large numbers of small farms, which are associated with better nutrition and height. Secondly, industrializing counties had a high density of population relative to agricultural land, indicating extensive rural industrial activity: counties that were already reliant on small scale industry, with the technical and entrepreneurial skills this generated, experienced the strongest industrial growth. Looking at 1830s France we find that the strongest predictor of industrialization again is quality of workers shown by height of the population, although market access and availability of water power were also important.

The role of human capital and innovation in economic development: evidence from post-Malthusian Prussia

“…The surprising result that the stock of literate people was associated with high-tech innovations can be explained by three different lines of argument. First, high literacy rates might indicate an above-average general investment in children's human capital that comprised also higher education, nutrition, and preventive health care (Baten et al, 2014;Kelly et al, 2015;Prados de la Escosura, 2015;Mühlhoff, 2016). Second, a high literacy rate might have facilitated transregional knowledge spillover and therefore a county's outstanding innovativeness because reading was the only way to learn about ideas occurred outside the own locality.…”

Physiological constraints and the transition to growth: implications for comparative development

“…Empirically, the authors document that individuals in the North were physiologically relatively bigger than in the South. Kelly et al (2015) explain the latter fact by persistent differences in the organization of production and a more nutritious diet. In the case of France, the authors also detect a significant link between body size and the timing of the Industrial Revolution.…”

“…A natural question is whether it is plausible that within country variations in body size (implicitly captured by absolute latitude) could influence within country long-run developments. Kelly et al (2015) provide a fresh look at the determinants of the Industrial Revolution within two prominent European countries: England and France. In the case of England, the Industrial Revolution first took hold in the North, leading to a reversal of fortune since the South historically had access to richer agricultural lands.…”

Physiological Constraints and Comparative Economic Development

“…In a recent study, Kelly, O'Grada and Mokyr (2015) provide a fresh look at the determinants of the Industrial Revolution within two prominent European countries: England and France. In the case of England, the Industrial Revolution took hold first in the North, leading to a reversal of fortune since the South historically had access to richer agricultural lands.…”