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Fighting for Growth: Labor Scarcity and Technological Progress During the British Industrial Revolution

Bruno Caprettini, Alex Trew, Hans-Joachim Voth

Forthcoming, American Economic Review

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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.

Keywords
Industrial Revolution, labor scarcity, technological progress, labor-saving technology, Britain
JEL
N13, N43, O14, O31, O47
Canonical
https://www.jvoth.com/papers/fighting-for-growth.html

Bruno Caprettini, Alex Trew, Hans-Joachim Voth (2022-12-06). “Fighting for Growth: Labor Scarcity and Technological Progress During the British Industrial Revolution.” Forthcoming, American Economic Review.