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Understanding productivity growth in the industrial revolution

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  • Nicholas Crafts

Abstract

Recent research relating to productivity growth during the British industrial revolution is reviewed. This confirms that there was a gradual acceleration rather than a ‘take‐off’. The explanation for the speeding‐up of technological progress remains controversial but the evidence base has improved considerably. In the face of a surge in population growth, slow growth of real wages during the industrial revolution may be seen as a good outcome which was underpinned by improved growth potential. Slow total factor productivity growth from the 1870s suggests that British technological capabilities at the end of the industrial revolution were still quite limited.

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  • Nicholas Crafts, 2021. "Understanding productivity growth in the industrial revolution," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 74(2), pages 309-338, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ehsrev:v:74:y:2021:i:2:p:309-338
    DOI: 10.1111/ehr.13051
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    3. Nuvolari, Alessandro & Tartari, Valentina & Tranchero, Matteo, 2021. "Patterns of innovation during the Industrial Revolution: A reappraisal using a composite indicator of patent quality," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    4. Seltzer, Andrew J. & Wadsworth, Jonathan, 2024. "The impact of public transportation and commuting on urban labor markets: Evidence from the New Survey of London Life and Labour, 1929–1932," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
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    6. Bennett, Robert J. & Hannah, Leslie, 2024. "The sources of scale: large employers in Britain in 1881," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 126297, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    7. Leslie Hannah & Robert Bennett, 2022. "Large‐scale Victorian manufacturers: Reconstructing the lost 1881 UK employer census," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 75(3), pages 830-856, August.

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