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Capital and Economic Growth in Britain, 1270-1870: Preliminary Findings

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  • Stephen Broadberry
  • Alexandra M. de Pleijt

Abstract

Estimates of capital formation and the stock of capital in Britain are provided for the period 1270-1870 and used to analyse economic growth. (1) We chart the growing importance of fixed relative to working capital, the declining importance of land and the growth of net overseas assets. (2) Kaldor’s stylised facts of a rising capital-labour ratio and a stationary capital-output ratio are broadly confirmed, but only if attention is confined to fixed capital. (3) Extensive form growth accounts suggest that output growth was driven largely by factor input growth, while intensive form growth accounts suggest that TFP growth was more important than capital deepening in explaining the growth of output per head. (4) The investment share of GDP increased substantially during the transition from pre-industrial to modern economic growth.

Suggested Citation

  • Stephen Broadberry & Alexandra M. de Pleijt, 2021. "Capital and Economic Growth in Britain, 1270-1870: Preliminary Findings," Oxford Economic and Social History Working Papers _186, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:oxf:esohwp:_186
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Mitchell, B. R., 1964. "The Coming of the Railway and United Kingdom Economic Growth," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 24(3), pages 315-336, September.
    2. Clark, Gregory, 2002. "Land rental values and the agrarian economy: England and Wales, 1500–1914," European Review of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 6(3), pages 281-308, December.
    3. Nuno Palma, 2018. "Reconstruction of money supply over the long run: the case of England, 1270–1870," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 71(2), pages 373-392, May.
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    5. Angus Maddison, 1995. "Explaining The Economic Performance Of Nations," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 294.
    6. Clark, Gregory, 1988. "The cost of capital and medieval agricultural technique," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 25(3), pages 265-294, July.
    7. Gregory CLARK, 2016. "Microbes and Markets: Was the Black Death an Economic Revolution?," JODE - Journal of Demographic Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 82(2), pages 139-165, June.
    8. Bogart, Dan, 2005. "Did Turnpike Trusts Increase Transportation Investment in Eighteenth-Century England?," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 65(2), pages 439-468, June.
    9. Postan, M. M., 1967. "Investment in Medieval Agriculture," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 27(4), pages 576-587, December.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Stephen Broadberry, 2024. "British Economic Growth and Development," Springer Books, in: Claude Diebolt & Michael Haupert (ed.), Handbook of Cliometrics, edition 3, pages 951-986, Springer.
    2. Seán Kenny & Jason Lennard & Kevin Hjortshøj O’Rourke, 2020. "An annual index of Irish industrial production, 1800-1921," Oxford Economic and Social History Working Papers _185, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    3. Stephen Broadberry, 2021. "Accounting for the Great Divergence: Recent findings from historical national accounting," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 549, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).
    4. Thomas E. Lambert, 2024. "British Public Investment, Government Spending, Housing, and the Industrial Revolution: A Study of Governmental and Social Surplus Absorption," Journal of Economic Issues, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 58(4), pages 1378-1401, October.
    5. Lambert, Thomas, 2021. "The Baran Ratio, Investment, and British Economic Growth and Investment," MPRA Paper 109546, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. repec:cte:whrepe:33369 is not listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • N13 - Economic History - - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Industrial Structure; Growth; Fluctuations - - - Europe: Pre-1913
    • N33 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - Europe: Pre-1913
    • O10 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - General
    • O47 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Empirical Studies of Economic Growth; Aggregate Productivity; Cross-Country Output Convergence

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