Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP16928
Authors: Raphael Franck
Abstract: To analyze the impact of labor scarcity on technology adoption and innovation, this study uses the differential spread of cholera across France in 1832, 1849 and 1854, before the transmission mode of this disease was understood. The results suggest that a larger share of cholera deaths in the population, which can be causally linked to summer temperature levels, had a positive and significant short-run effect on technology adoption and innovation in agriculture but a negative and significant short-run impact on technology adoption in industry. These results, which are not driven by migration, urbanization, religiosity or local financial intermediation, can be explained by the positive impact of labor scarcity on human capital formation.
Keywords: epidemics; labor scarcity; technology adoption
JEL Codes: I15; N13; O33
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Summer Temperature Levels (Q54) | Share of Cholera Deaths (I14) |
| Labor Scarcity (J89) | Human Capital Formation (J24) |
| Share of Cholera Deaths (I14) | Labor Scarcity (J89) |
| Labor Scarcity (J89) | Technology Adoption in Agriculture (Q16) |
| Labor Scarcity (J89) | Technology Adoption in Industrial Sector (O14) |