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Ready for Revolution? The English Economy before 1800

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  • Morgan Kelly
  • Cormac Ó Gráda

Abstract

Sustained economic growth in England can be traced back to the early seventeenth century. That earlier growth, albeit modest, both generated and was sustained by a demographic regime that entailed relatively high wages, and by an increasing endowment of human capital in the form of a relatively adaptable and skilled labour force. Healthier and savvier English workers were better equipped to profit from the technological possibilities available to them, and to build on them. Technological change and economic growth stemmed from such human capital rather than Boserupian forces. They were the product of England’s resource endowment and its institutions.

Suggested Citation

  • Morgan Kelly & Cormac Ó Gráda, 2014. "Ready for Revolution? The English Economy before 1800," Working Papers 201418, School of Economics, University College Dublin.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucn:wpaper:201418
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10197/6131
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Floud,Roderick & Humphries,Jane & Johnson,Paul (ed.), 2014. "The Cambridge Economic History of Modern Britain," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781107631434, September.
    2. E. A. Wrigley, 2007. "Erratum: English county populations in the later eighteenth century," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 60(2), pages 456-456, May.
    3. Simon Ville, 1986. "Total Factor Productivity in the English Shipping Industry: The North-east Coal Trade, 1700-1850′," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 39(3), pages 355-370, August.
    4. Floud,Roderick & Humphries,Jane & Johnson,Paul (ed.), 2014. "The Cambridge Economic History of Modern Britain," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781107686731, September.
    5. Allen, Robert C. & Bengtsson, Tommy & Dribe, Martin (ed.), 2005. "Living Standards in the Past: New Perspectives on Well-Being in Asia and Europe," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199280681.
    6. Floud,Roderick & Humphries,Jane & Johnson,Paul (ed.), 2014. "The Cambridge Economic History of Modern Britain," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781107038455, September.
    7. Minns, Chris & Wallis, Patrick, 2013. "The price of human capital in a pre-industrial economy: Premiums and apprenticeship contracts in 18th century England," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 50(3), pages 335-350.
    8. Floud,Roderick & Humphries,Jane & Johnson,Paul (ed.), 2014. "The Cambridge Economic History of Modern Britain," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781107038462, September.
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    Cited by:

    1. de Pleijt, Alexandra M., 2015. "Human capital and long run economic growth : Evidence from the stock of human capital in England, 1300-1900," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 229, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).
    2. Judy Z. Stephenson, 2018. "‘Real’ wages? Contractors, workers, and pay in London building trades, 1650–1800," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 71(1), pages 106-132, February.
    3. Alexandra M. de Pleijt, 2018. "Human capital formation in the long run: evidence from average years of schooling in England, 1300–1900," Cliometrica, Journal of Historical Economics and Econometric History, Association Française de Cliométrie (AFC), vol. 12(1), pages 99-126, January.

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    Keywords

    Economic history; Industrial revolution;

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