When did Britain industrialise? The sectoral distribution of the labour force and labour productivity in Britain, 1381–1851

Stephen Broadberry, Bruce M.S. Campbell and Bas van Leeuwen

Explorations in Economic History, 2013, vol. 50, issue 1, 16-27

Abstract: Britain's labour force industrialised early. The industrial and service sectors already accounted for 40% of the labour force in 1381, and a substantial further shift of labour out of agriculture occurred between 1522 and 1700. From the early seventeenth century rising agricultural labour productivity underpinned steadily increasing employment in industry and services, so that by 1759 agriculture's share of the labour force had shrunk to 37% and industry's grown to 34%. Thereafter, industry's output acceleration during the Industrial Revolution owed more to gains in labour productivity consequent upon mechanisation than the expansion of employment.

Keywords: Labour force; Sectoral distribution; Labour productivity; Britain (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J21 N13 N33 O14 O52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (41)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:exehis:v:50:y:2013:i:1:p:16-27

DOI: 10.1016/j.eeh.2012.08.004

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