When did Britain industrialise? The sectoral distribution of the labour force and labour productivity in Britain, 1381-1851

Stephen N Broadberry; Bruce M. S. Campbell; Bas van Leeuwen

doi:10.1016/j.eeh.2012.08.004

When did Britain industrialise? The sectoral distribution of the labour force and labour productivity in Britain, 1381-1851

Stephen N Broadberry, Bruce M. S. Campbell, Bas van Leeuwen

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Abstract

Britain's labour force industrialised early. The industrial and service sectors already accounted for 40% of the labour force in 1381, and a substantial further shift of labour out of agriculture occurred between 1522 and 1700. From the early seventeenth century rising agricultural labour productivity underpinned steadily increasing employment in industry and services, so that by 1759 agriculture's share of the labour force had shrunk to 37% and industry's grown to 34%. Thereafter, industry's output acceleration during the Industrial Revolution owed more to gains in labour productivity consequent upon mechanisation than the expansion of employment.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	16–27
Number of pages	12
Journal	Explorations in Economic History
Volume	50
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eeh.2012.08.004
Publication status	Published - Jan 2013

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Economics and Econometrics
History

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10.1016/j.eeh.2012.08.004

When did Britain industrialise? The sectoral distribution of the labour force and labour productivity in Britain, 1381–1851
This is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Explorations in Economic History. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Explorations in Economic History, VOL 50, 01/2013
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When did Britain industrialise? The sectoral distribution of the labour force and labour productivity in Britain, 1381-1851

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