Week 2: When Growth Begins, Why England?

Question 1

What is the Industrious revolution?

Answer 1

Before the industrial revolution

-longer hours

-children and women work

-protestant work ethic

Question 2

What was at the heart of the IR?

Answer 2

-interrelated succession of technological changes
-mechanical devices, the use inanimate power in pace of animal
and human energy
- In particular in textile production, and in mining and steel

Question 3

How did technological progress relate to the IR?

Answer 3

-Improvement in getting and working of raw materials
metallurgy and chemical industries

-New forms of industrial organization: the factory system

Question 4

Examples of technological changes in textiles ?

Answer 4

-a spinster -> spinning jenny

Question 5

Reasons for industrial revolution?

Answer 5

-Institutions
-Geography
-Human Capital
-Demographics
-Genetics

Question 6

Issue with just using Human Capital as an explanation for IR?

Answer 6

-compulsory for schooling introduced in England in 1870s so no correlation

-Mokyr - ‘If England led the rest of the World in the Industrial Revolution, it was despite, not because of her formal education system’

Question 7

Institutional change in Europe?

Answer 7

-The decline of Feudalism in Western Europe following the Black Death

-The gradual dilution of the Monarch’s power in England
Magna Carta 1215Civil war 1621-51
Glorious Revolution 1688
All resulted in checks (through Parliament) on the Monarch’s
power

• The French Revolution

Question 8

Allen’s theory?

Answer 8

1. Britain had an early lead in wool textiles
2. Success in gaining colonies enlarged the market for British
   wares
3. The growth of London was thus stimulated (where goods were
   exported from)
4. The availability of cheap coal allowed London to grow (there
   was not enough wood in the country to allow London to grow
   as it did)
5. This stimulated the demand for labor in English cities so that
   English wages (and therefore living standards) were the highest
   in the world
6. The growth of cities and the high wage economy stimulated
   agriculture
7. High wages and cheap energy created a demand for
   technology that substituted capital and energy for labor

Question 9

Explain 1 (Britain had an early lead in wool textiles) of Allen Theory

Answer 9

-Black Death destroyed serfdom
- the population decline allowed the conversion of
mass amounts of land from arable to pasture
- Better fed sheep produced high quality long wool, suitable for
worsted, increasing the supply to the wool draperies

Question 10

Explain 2 ( Success in gaining colonies enlarged the market for
British wares
) of Allen Theory

Answer 10

-colonization began in the 17th century, successful trade links established (unlike Spain & Portugal who relied on Bullion markets)

Question 11

Explain 3 (The growth of London was thus stimulated
) of Allen Theory

Answer 11

-main export port for English wool

Question 12

Explain 4 ( The availability of cheap coal allowed London to grow) of Allen theory

Answer 12

-cheaper than wood and energy was Cheap in England

Question 13

Explain 5( This stimulated the demand for labor in English cities so
that English wages (and therefore living standards) were
the highest in the world) of Allen Theory

Answer 13

-London real wages were highest in the world

Question 14

Explain 6 ( The growth of cities and the high wage economy
stimulated agriculture) of Allen Theory

Answer 14

-Labour productivity in agriculture rose

Question 15

Explain 7 (High wages and cheap energy created a demand for
technology that substituted capital and energy for labour
) of Allen Theory

Question 16

Critiques of Allen?

Answer 16

-Kelly, Mokyr reading
- did not have better education

Question 17

What does Kelly and Mokyr say about why England for IR?

Answer 17

• they focus on labour quality rather than high wages like Allen for why England SPEARHEADED the IR?

Question 18

What 2 dimensions of labour quality are given by Kelly and Mokyr?

Answer 18

-Physical-Cognitive Quality
-Human capital

Question 19

England, physical cognitive quality? (kelly and mokyr)

Answer 19

-superior physical and cognitive capabilities due to better nutrition, resulting in enhanced strength and cognitive ability.
- higher agricultural productivity and the capacity to import food from the Continent and Ireland
-English Poor Law mitigating malnutrition and improving labor quality. Insured food accessibility for the neediest, indirectly boosting the quality of the workforce

Question 20

England, human capital? (kelly and mokyr

Answer 20

-Britain’s apprenticeship system in developing a highly skilled artisan class. This system facilitated the transmission of tacit knowledge crucial for various industries, especially those reliant on coal.
-Unlike the more rigid guild-controlled systems on the the Poor Law’s provision of parish apprenticeships, even for those unable to afford the fees, created a robust pipeline of skilled artisans.

Question 21

Difference between Allen and Kelly and Mokyr

Answer 21

-Allen says high wages due to demand of labour from cotton…
-Kelly and Mokyr say due to high labour quality these wages are high

Question 22

What other people critique Allen’s argument of high wages?

Answer 22

Malthus 1824- efficiency of labour
in France is less than in England,

Question 23

Christine MacLeod findings?

Answer 23

-examines patent 1660-1800
-30.8% saving capital compared to 4.2% saving labour
-main goal was to improve efficiency and reduce costs

Question 24

Why was labour saving technologies built (Allen)?

Answer 24

-Steam engine, cotton mill
- innovations were initially only profitable in Britain due to the unique combination of high labor costs and cheap energy