Fighting for Growth: Labor Scarcity and Technological Progress During the British Industrial Revolution

Hans-Joachim Voth, Bruno Caprettini and Alex Trew

No 21548, CEPR Discussion Papers from Centre for Economic Policy Research

Abstract: New evidence demonstrates a link between labor scarcity and the adoption of labor-saving technology in industrializing England. During the Napoleonic Wars, more than 10% of the male population served in the armed forces. Where recruitment was heavy, more machines economizing on labor were adopted. Naval recruitment, instrumented by warships’ coastal access, provides exogenous variation in labor scarcity and suggests that the link between labor shortages and adoption is causal. Where mechanical skills were abundant, the impact of labor scarcity on adoption appears to be larger.

Keywords: Technology; adoption (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: N13 N43 O14 O31 O47 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-05
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