Technology Adoption in Agrarian Societies: the Effect of Volga Germans in Imperial Russia

Timur Natkhov and Natalia Vasilenok ()
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Natalia Vasilenok: National Research University Higher School of Economics

HSE Working papers from National Research University Higher School of Economics

Abstract: This paper examines technology adoption in pre-industrial societies. We use the case of a technologically advanced and spatially concentrated German minority in Saratov province of the Russian Empire to study adoption patterns among Russian peasants in late 19th–early 20th century. We find that distance from German colonies predicts the prevalence of heavy ploughs, fanning mills and wheat sowing among Russians, who traditionally sowed rye and plowed with wooden ard (sokha). We show a significant rise in labor productivity in agriculture resulting from the adoption of heavy ploughs. However, we find no evidence for the adoption of non-codified knowledge like blacksmithing, carpentry, textile manufacture, tanning and other artisan skills. Hence, the adoption of advanced tools does not necessary induce the diffusion of skills required to produce those tools. This may well be the key to the problem of slow technological convergence

JEL-codes: I15 N33 N53 O15 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 52 pages
Date: 2019
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cis, nep-eff, nep-gro and nep-his
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Published in WP BRP Series: Economics / EC, September 2019, pages 1-52

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hig:wpaper:220/ec/2019

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