Fighting for Growth: Labor Scarcity and Technological Progress During the British Industrial Revolution
Type
conference paper
Date Issued
2024-03-19
Author(s)
Voth Hans-joachim
;
Trew, Alex
Abstract
We collect new data and present new evidence on the effects of labor scarcity on the adoption of labor-saving technology in industrializing England. Where the British armed forces recruited heavily, more machines that economized on labor were adopted. For purposes of identification, we focus on naval recruitment. Using warships' ease of access to coastal locations as an instrument, we show that exogenous shocks to labor scarcity led to technology adoption. The same shocks are only weakly associated with the adoption of non-labor saving technologies. Importantly, there is also a synergy between skill abundance and labor scarcity boosting technology adoption. Where labor shortages led to labor-saving machine adoption, technology afterwards improved more rapidly.
Language
English (United States)
Keywords
Technology adoption learning-by-doing Industrial Revolution
Event Title
2025 Banff Innovation, Productivity and Growth Conference
Event Location
Banff, Alberta, Canada
Event Date
26.06.2026-27.06.2026
Contact Email Address
alexander.whalley@ucalgary.ca
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Name
Fighting_for_Growth_March_2024.pdf
Size
6.37 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
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