British Public Investment, Government Spending, Housing, and the Industrial Revolution: A Study of Governmental and Social Surplus Absorption

Thomas Lambert

Journal of Economic Issues, 2024, vol. 58, issue 4, 1378-1401

Abstract: When it comes to the British Industrial Revolution of the eighteenth century, much of the mainstream economics literature has tended to focus on how property rights, limitations on the crown or government, and changes in production techniques caused a big transformation in the nation’s economy. Marxian and other heterodox economics views acknowledge these developments but also emphasize the enclosure movement and the development of an exploited proletariat. Both sets of views acknowledge the role of the British government in facilitating the revolution, but in doing a review for this article, there is only a small amount of literature on how government investment and spending and the housing of workers may have helped spur the revolution. This is especially true within heterodox schools of thought, and this article aims to add to the heterodox literature by discussing how government investment and investment in housing assisted with surplus absorption during the Industrial Revolution, which in turn helped the British economy to achieve greater heights. Finally, it can be shown that this investment, in turn, would have helped business investment and spending in absorbing as much of the surplus as possible. Strong and sensible uses of government spending matter as much as free market ideology.

Date: 2024
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Working Paper: British Public Investment, Government Spending, Housing, and the Industrial Revolution: A Study of Governmental and Social Surplus Absorption (2022)
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DOI: 10.1080/00213624.2024.2418651

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