IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/hrv/faseco/3199066.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Factor Prices and Productivity Growth During the British Industrial Revolution

Author

Listed:
  • Antras, Pol
  • Voth, Hans-Joachim

Abstract

This paper presents new estimates of total factor productivity growth in Britain for the period 1770–1860. We use the dual technique and argue that the estimates we derive from factor prices are of similar quality to quantity-based calculations. Our results provide further evidence, calculated on the basis of an independent set of sources, that productivity growth during the British Industrial Revolution was relatively slow. The Crafts–Harley view of the Industrial Revolution is thus reinforced. Our preferred estimates suggest a modest acceleration after 1800.

Suggested Citation

  • Antras, Pol & Voth, Hans-Joachim, 2003. "Factor Prices and Productivity Growth During the British Industrial Revolution," Scholarly Articles 3199066, Harvard University Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:hrv:faseco:3199066
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/3199066/antras_britishrev.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Knick Harley, C & Crafts, Nicholas, 1998. "Productivity of growth during the First Industrial Revolution: inferences from the pattern of British external trade," Economic History Working Papers 22396, London School of Economics and Political Science, Department of Economic History.
    2. Javier Cuenca Esteban, 1995. "Further evidence of falling prices of cotton cloth, 1768-1816," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 48(1), pages 145-150, February.
    3. Temin, Peter, 1997. "Two Views of the British Industrial Revolution," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 57(1), pages 63-82, March.
    4. Clark, Gregory, 1998. "Renting The Revolution," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 58(1), pages 206-210, March.
    5. Buchinsky, Moshe & Polak, Ben, 1993. "The Emergence of a National Capital Market in England, 1710–1880," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 53(1), pages 1-24, March.
    6. Cecchetti, Stephen G, 1992. "Prices during the Great Depression: Was the Deflation of 1930-1932 Really Unanticipated?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 82(1), pages 141-156, March.
    7. Mokyr, Joel, 1987. "Has the industrial revolution been crowded out? Some reflections on Crafts and Williamson," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 24(3), pages 293-319, July.
    8. Avinash K. Dixit & Robert S. Pindyck, 1994. "Investment under Uncertainty," Economics Books, Princeton University Press, edition 1, number 5474.
    9. David S. Litvack & Jimming T.M. Lin & Jennie I. Litvack & Robert B. Satloff, 1990. "World," Challenge, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 33(2), pages 59-59, March.
    10. Lindert, Peter H. & Williamson, Jeffrey G., 1985. "English Workers' Real Wages: Reply to Crafts," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 45(01), pages 145-153, March.
    11. N. Gregory Mankiw & David Romer & David Weil, 1990. "A Contribution to the Empirics of Economic Growth," Working Papers 1990-24, Brown University, Department of Economics.
    12. Michael J. Boskin, 1998. "Consumer Prices, the Consumer Price Index, and the Cost of Living," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 12(1), pages 3-26, Winter.
    13. Collins, William J. & Williamson, Jeffrey G., 2001. "Capital-Goods Prices And Investment, 1870–1950," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 61(1), pages 59-94, March.
    14. D. W. Jorgenson & Z. Griliches, 1967. "The Explanation of Productivity Change," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 34(3), pages 249-283.
    15. Robert J. Barro & Xavier Sala-i-Martin, 1990. "World Real Interest Rates," NBER Chapters, in: NBER Macroeconomics Annual 1990, Volume 5, pages 15-74, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    16. Javier Cuenca Esteban, 1994. "British textile prices, 1770-1831: are British growth rates worth revising once again?," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 47(1), pages 66-105, February.
    17. C. K. Harley & N. F. R. Crafts, 1995. "Cotton textiles and industrial output growth during the industrial revolution," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 48(1), pages 134-144, February.
    18. Julian Hoppit, 1990. "Counting the industrial revolution," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 43(2), pages 173-193, May.
    19. Jeremy Greenwood & Boyan Jovanovic, 2001. "Accounting for Growth," NBER Chapters, in: New Developments in Productivity Analysis, pages 179-224, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    20. Dale W. Jorgenson, 1966. "The Embodiment Hypothesis," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 74(1), pages 1-1.
    21. Voth, Hans-Joachim, 1998. "Time and Work in Eighteenth-Century London," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 58(1), pages 29-58, March.
    22. Andreas Hornstein & Per Krusell, 1996. "Can Technology Improvements Cause Productivity Slowdowns?," NBER Chapters, in: NBER Macroeconomics Annual 1996, Volume 11, pages 209-276, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    23. David, Paul A, 1990. "The Dynamo and the Computer: An Historical Perspective on the Modern Productivity Paradox," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 80(2), pages 355-361, May.
    24. By R.V. JACKSON, 1992. "Rates of industrial growth during the industrial revolution," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 45(1), pages 1-23, February.
    25. Harley, C. Knick & Crafts, N.F.R., 2000. "Simulating the Two Views of the British Industrial Revolution," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 60(3), pages 819-841, September.
    26. N. Gregory Mankiw & David Romer & David N. Weil, 1992. "A Contribution to the Empirics of Economic Growth," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 107(2), pages 407-437.
    27. Chang-Tai Hsieh, 2002. "What Explains the Industrial Revolution in East Asia? Evidence From the Factor Markets," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 92(3), pages 502-526, June.
    28. Julian Hoppit, 1986. "Financial Crises in Eighteenth-century England," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 39(1), pages 39-58, February.
    29. Mirowski, Philip, 1981. "The Rise (and Retreat) of a Market: English Joint Stock Shares in the Eighteenth Century," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 41(3), pages 559-577, September.
    30. Bresnahan, Timothy F. & Trajtenberg, M., 1995. "General purpose technologies 'Engines of growth'?," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 65(1), pages 83-108, January.
    31. Paul A. David & Gavin Wright, "undated". "General Purpose Technologies and Surges in Productivity: Historical Reflections on the Future of the ICT Revolution," Working Papers 99026, Stanford University, Department of Economics.
    32. Williamson, Jeffrey G., 1984. "Why Was British Growth So Slow During the Industrial Revolution?," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 44(3), pages 687-712, September.
    33. Harley, C. Knick, 1982. "British Industrialization Before 1841: Evidence of Slower Growth During the Industrial Revolution," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 42(2), pages 267-289, June.
    34. Irwin, Douglas A, 1991. "Terms of Trade and Economic Growth in Nineteenth Century Britain," Bulletin of Economic Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(1), pages 93-101, January.
    35. Temin, Peter, 2000. "A Response to Harley and Crafts," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 60(3), pages 842-846, September.
    36. By R.V. JACKSON, 1990. "Government expenditure and British economic growth in the eighteenth century: some problems of measurement," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 43(2), pages 217-235, May.
    37. Gervais, Martin, 2002. "Housing taxation and capital accumulation," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(7), pages 1461-1489, October.
    38. Feinstein, Charles H., 1998. "Pessimism Perpetuated: Real Wages and the Standard of Living in Britain during and after the Industrial Revolution," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 58(3), pages 625-658, September.
    39. Turner, Michael & Beckett, John & Afton, Bethanie, 1998. "Renting The Revolution: A Reply to Clark," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 58(1), pages 211-214, March.
    40. Peter H. Lindert & Jeffrey G. Williamson, 1983. "English Workers’Living Standards During the Industrial Revolution: A New Look," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 36(1), pages 1-25, February.
    41. N. F. R. Crafts & C. K. Harley, 1992. "Output growth and the British industrial revolution: a restatement of the Crafts-Harley view," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 45(4), pages 703-730, November.
    42. Schofield, R. S., 1973. "Dimensions of illiteracy, 1750-1850," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 10(4), pages 437-454.
    43. Feinstein, Charles, 1988. "The Rise and Fall of the Williamson Curve," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 48(3), pages 699-729, September.
    44. Charles Feinstein, 1996. "Conjectures and Contrivances: Economic Growth and the Standard of Living in Britain,During the Industrial Revolution," Oxford Economic and Social History Working Papers _009, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    45. C. Knick Harley, 1999. "Cotton textile prices revisited: a response to Cuenca Esteban," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 52(4), pages 756-765, November.
    46. Chang-Tai Hsieh, 1999. "Productivity Growth and Factor Prices in East Asia," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 89(2), pages 133-138, May.
    47. McCloskey, Donald N., 1972. "The Enclosure of Open Fields: Preface to a Study of Its Impact on the Efficiency of English Agriculture in the Eighteenth Century," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 32(1), pages 15-35, March.
    48. Maxine Berg & Pat Hudson, 1992. "Rehabilitating the industrial revolution," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 45(1), pages 24-50, February.
    49. Charles Feinstein, 1996. "Conjectures and Contrivances: Economic Growth and the Standard of Living in Britain,During the Industrial Revolution," Economics Series Working Papers 1996-W09, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    50. Chapman, John, 1999. "Charities, Rents, and Enclosure: A Comment on Clark," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 59(02), pages 447-450, June.
    51. Olivier Jean Blanchard & Stanley Fischer (ed.), 1990. "NBER Macroeconomics Annual 1990," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262521555, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Stokey, Nancy L., 2001. "A quantitative model of the British industrial revolution, 1780-1850," Carnegie-Rochester Conference Series on Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 55(1), pages 55-109, December.
    2. Temin, Peter & Voth, Hans-Joachim, 2005. "Credit rationing and crowding out during the industrial revolution: evidence from Hoare's Bank, 1702-1862," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 42(3), pages 325-348, July.
    3. Robert C. Allen, 2005. "Capital Accumulation, Technological Change, and the Distribution of Income during the British Industrial Revolution," Economics Series Working Papers 239, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    4. Antonin Bergeaud & Gilbert Cette & Rémy Lecat, 2018. "The role of production factor quality and technology diffusion in twentieth-century productivity growth," Cliometrica, Springer;Cliometric Society (Association Francaise de Cliométrie), vol. 12(1), pages 61-97, January.
    5. Jaume Ventura & Hans-Joachim Voth, 2015. "Debt into Growth: How Sovereign Debt Accelerated the First Industrial Revolution," NBER Working Papers 21280, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Robert Allen & Robert C. Allen, 2007. "Engel`s Pause: A Pessimist`s Guide to the British Industrial Revolution," Economics Series Working Papers 315, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    7. Nico Voigtländer & Hans-Joachim Voth, 2006. "Why England? Demographic factors, structural change and physical capital accumulation during the Industrial Revolution," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 11(4), pages 319-361, December.
    8. Jesus Felipe & John S. L. McCombie, 2007. "Is A Theory Of Total Factor Productivity Really Needed?," Metroeconomica, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(1), pages 195-229, February.
    9. Les T. Oxley & Kenneth I. Carlaw, 2004. "ICT Diffusion and Economic Growth in New Zealand," Econometric Society 2004 Australasian Meetings 167, Econometric Society.
    10. Ho, Chi Pui, 2016. "Industrious Selection: Explaining Five Revolutions and Two Divergences in Eurasian Economic History within a Unified Growth Framework," MPRA Paper 73862, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. Chad Turner & Robert Tamura & Sean Mulholland, 2013. "How important are human capital, physical capital and total factor productivity for determining state economic growth in the United States, 1840–2000?," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 18(4), pages 319-371, December.
    12. Charles H. Feinstein & Mark Thomas, 2001. "A Plea for Errors," Oxford Economic and Social History Working Papers _041, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    13. Crafts, N. F. R. & Leybourne, S. J. & Mills, T. C., 1988. "Economic Growth In Nineteeth Century Britain: Comparisons With Europe In The Context Of Gerschenkron'S Hypotheses," Economic Research Papers 268342, University of Warwick - Department of Economics.
    14. Voth, Joachim, 2005. "Credit Rationing and Crowding Out During the Industrial Revolution," Department of Economics, Working Paper Series qt4qw3v8q6, Department of Economics, Institute for Business and Economic Research, UC Berkeley.
    15. Crafts, Nicholas, 1999. "Quantitative economic history," Economic History Working Papers 22390, London School of Economics and Political Science, Department of Economic History.
    16. Allen, Robert C., 2001. "The Great Divergence in European Wages and Prices from the Middle Ages to the First World War," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 38(4), pages 411-447, October.
    17. Bibhudutta Panda, 2017. "Schooling and productivity growth: evidence from a dual growth accounting application to U.S. states," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 48(2), pages 193-221, December.
    18. Massimo Del Gatto & Adriana Di Liberto & Carmelo Petraglia, 2011. "Measuring Productivity," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(5), pages 952-1008, December.
    19. Goce Petreski & Darko Lazarov, 2017. "Drivers of Economic Growth: A Comparative Analysis of Macedonia and Bulgaria," Economic Studies journal, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences - Economic Research Institute, issue 6, pages 3-16.
    20. repec:bap:eebook:02 is not listed on IDEAS
    21. Ravshonbek Otojanov & Roger Fouquet & Brigitte Granville, 2023. "Factor prices and induced technical change in the industrial revolution," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 76(2), pages 599-623, May.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • N13 - Economic History - - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Industrial Structure; Growth; Fluctuations - - - Europe: Pre-1913
    • O47 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Empirical Studies of Economic Growth; Aggregate Productivity; Cross-Country Output Convergence
    • O52 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Europe

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:hrv:faseco:3199066. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Office for Scholarly Communication (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/deharus.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.