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Discussion Paper Details

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Title: The growing dependence of Britain on trade during the Industrial Revolution

Author(s): Gregory Clark, Kevin Hjortsh�j O'Rourke and Alan M. Taylor

Publication Date: March 2014

Keyword(s): British Industrial Revolution, colonies, Great Divergence, growth, specialization and trade

Programme Area(s): Economic History and International Trade and Regional Economics

Abstract: Many previous studies of the role of trade during the British Industrial Revolution have found little or no role for trade in explaining British living standards or growth rates. We construct a three-region model of the world in which Britain trades with North America and the rest of the world, and calibrate the model to data from the 1760s and 1850s. We find that while trade had only a small impact on British welfare in the 1760s, it had a very large impact in the 1850s. This contrast is robust to a large range of parameter perturbations. Biased technological change and population growth were key in explaining Britain?s growing dependence on trade during the Industrial Revolution.

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Bibliographic Reference

Clark, G, O'Rourke, K and Taylor, A. 2014. 'The growing dependence of Britain on trade during the Industrial Revolution'. London, Centre for Economic Policy Research. https://cepr.org/active/publications/discussion_papers/dp.php?dpno=9878