The Economic Effects of the Abolition of Serfdom: Evidence from the Russian Empire

Andrei Markevich and Ekaterina Zhuravskaya

PSE-Ecole d'économie de Paris (Postprint) from HAL

Abstract: We document substantial increases in agricultural productivity, industrial output, and peasants' nutrition in Imperial Russia as a result of the abolition of serfdom in 1861. Before the emancipation, provinces where serfs constituted the majority of agricultural laborers lagged behind provinces that primarily relied on free labor. The emancipation led to a significant but partial catch up. Better incentives of peasants resulting from the cessation of ratchet effect were a likely mechanism behind a relatively fast positive effect of reform on agricultural productivity. The land reform, which instituted communal land tenure after the emancipation, diminished growth in productivity in repartition communes.

Date: 2018-04
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (33)

Published in American Economic Review, 2018, 108 (4-5), pp.1074 - 1117. ⟨10.1257/aer.20160144⟩

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
Journal Article: The Economic Effects of the Abolition of Serfdom: Evidence from the Russian Empire (2018)
Working Paper: Economic Effects of the Abolition of Serfdom: Evidence from the Russian Empire (2018)
Working Paper: The Economic Effects of the Abolition of Serfdom: Evidence from the Russian Empire (2018)
Working Paper: Economic Effects of the Abolition of Serfdom: Evidence from the Russian Empire (2018)
Working Paper: The Economic Effects of the Abolition of Serfdom: Evidence from the Russian Empire (2017)
Working Paper: The Economic Effects of the Abolition of Serfdom: Evidence from the Russian Empire (2017)
Working Paper: Economic Effects of the Abolition of Serfdom: Evidence from the Russian Empire (2015)
Working Paper: Economic Effects of the Abolition of Serfdom: Evidence from the Russian Empire (2015)
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:pseptp:halshs-01802898

DOI: 10.1257/aer.20160144

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in PSE-Ecole d'économie de Paris (Postprint) from HAL
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Caroline Bauer ().