Structural change and economic growth in the British economy before the Industrial Revolution, 1500-1800

Patrick Wallis, Justin Colson and David Chilosi

LSE Research Online Documents on Economics from London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library

Abstract: Structural transformation is a key indicator of economic development. We present the first time series of male labour sectoral shares for England and Wales before 1800, using a large sample of probate and apprenticeship data to produce national and county-level estimates. England experienced a rapid decline in the share of workers in agriculture between the early seventeenth and the beginning of the eighteenth centuries, associated with rising agricultural and especially industrial productivity; Wales saw few changes. Our results show that England experienced unusually early structural change and highlight the mid-seventeenth century as a turning point.

JEL-codes: F3 G3 N0 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018-09-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-eff, nep-evo, nep-gro and nep-his
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (22)

Published in Journal of Economic History, 1, September, 2018, 78(3), pp. 862 - 903. ISSN: 0022-0507

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Journal Article: Structural Change and Economic Growth in the British Economy before the Industrial Revolution, 1500–1800 (2018)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ehl:lserod:84510

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