Energy Transitions in the Long Run: Theory and Evidence from English Coal

We study the long-run effects of England's transition from wood to coal. We develop a Malthusian model in which energy transitions arise endogenously from population growth and alter population dynamics. We derive an estimating equation from our model and take it to county population data spanning 1086 to 1750, exploiting variation in the appropriability of coal created by the Dissolution of the Monasteries to address the endogeneity of when and where transitions occur. Our estimates confirm our model's predictions: population dynamics change starkly because of the transition, raising the population density of affected counties by roughly 28% by 1750.