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

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.

SUBMITTER: Wallis P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6420141 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature