Innovation, Technological Change and the British Agricultural Revolution

Abstract

Theory, historiography and empirical evidence suggest that agriculture is the key to economic development. This paper examines the extent to which productivity advances in British agriculture in the period 1620-1850 were driven by technological progress. Measuring technology by patents and new book titles on agricultural methods, the results indicate that technological progress has played a significant part in productivity advances. Furthermore, the results show that research effort has permanent growth effects, consistent with the prediction of Schumpeterian growth theory.

Keywords: British Agricultural Revolution, endogenous growth models, Schumpeterian growth

JEL Classification: N13, O30, O40, Q16