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Is anonymity the missing link between commercial and industrial revolution?
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Broadberry, S. N., Ghosal, Sayantan and Proto, Eugenio (2011) Is anonymity the missing link between commercial and industrial revolution? Working Paper. Coventry, UK: Department of Economics, University of Warwick. CAGE Online Working Paper Series, Volume 2011 (Number 54).
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Text (Working paper)
WRAP_54.2011_ghosal.pdf - Published Version Download (444Kb) | Preview |
Official URL: http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/economics/resear...
Abstract
The Industrial Revolution is often characterized as the culmination of a process of
commercialisation; however, the precise nature of such a link remains unclear. This
paper models and analyses one such link: the impact of a higher degree of anonymity
of market transactions on relative factor prices. Commercialisation raises wages as
impersonal labour market transactions replace personalized customary relations. This
leads, in equilibrium, to higher real wages to prevent shirking. To the extent that
capital and labor are (imperfect) substitutes, the resulting shift in relative factor
prices leads to the adoption of a more capital-intensive production technology which,
in turn, results in a faster rate of technological progress via enhanced learning by
doing. We provide evidence using European historical data consistent our results.
| Item Type: | Working or Discussion Paper (Working Paper) | ||||
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| Subjects: | H Social Sciences > HB Economic Theory H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions |
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| Divisions: | Faculty of Social Sciences > Economics | ||||
| Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Industrial revolution -- Great Britain, Economics -- Mathematical models | ||||
| Series Name: | CAGE Online Working Paper Series | ||||
| Publisher: | Department of Economics, University of Warwick | ||||
| Place of Publication: | Coventry, UK | ||||
| Official Date: | September 2011 | ||||
| Dates: |
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| Volume: | Volume 2011 | ||||
| Number: | Number 54 | ||||
| Number of Pages: | 37 | ||||
| Institution: | University of Warwick | ||||
| Status: | Not Peer Reviewed | ||||
| Publication Status: | Published | ||||
| Description: | Later version of this appeared in the TWERPS working paper series |
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