Broadberry, S. N. and Gupta, Bishnupriya. (2009) Lancashire, India, and shifting competitive advantage in cotton textiles, 1700-1850 : the neglected role of factor prices. Economic History Review, Vol.62 (No.2). pp. 279-305. ISSN 0013-0117

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Abstract

In the early eighteenth century, wages in Britain were more than four times as high as in India, the world's major exporter of cotton textiles. This induced the adoption of more capital-intensive production methods in Britain and a faster rate of technological progress, so that competitive advantage had begun to shift in Britain's favour by the late eighteenth century. However, the completion of the process was delayed until after the Napoleonic Wars by increasing raw cotton costs, before supply adjusted to the major increase in demand for inputs.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions
Divisions:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Economics
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Great Britain -- Commerce -- History -- 18th century, Great Britain -- Commerce -- History -- 19th century, Industrial revolution, Cotton textile industry -- England -- Lancashire -- History, Cotton textile industry -- India -- History, Wages -- Textile workers -- England -- Lancashire -- History, Wages -- Textile workers -- India -- History
Journal or Publication Title:	Economic History Review
Publisher:	Blackwell
ISSN:	0013-0117
Date:	May 2009
Volume:	Vol.62
Number:	No.2
Number of Pages:	27
Page Range:	pp. 279-305
Identification Number:	10.1111/j.1468-0289.2008.00438.x
Status:	Peer Reviewed
Publication Status:	Published
Funder:	Economic and Social Research Council (Great Britain) (ESRC), Seventh Framework Programme (European Commission) (FP7)
Grant number:	MRTN-CT-2004-512439 (FP7), R000239492 (ESRC)
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URI:	http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/28133

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