Working Paper: NBER ID: w14142
Authors: Alan L. Olmstead; Paul W. Rhode
Abstract: The Cliometrics literature on slave efficiency has generally focused on static questions. We take a decidedly more dynamic approach. Drawing on the records of 142 plantations with 509 crops years, we show that the average daily cotton picking rate increased about four-fold between 1801 and 1862. We argue that the development and diffusion of new cotton varieties were the primary sources of the increased efficiency. These finding have broad implications for understanding the South's preeminence in the world cotton market, the pace of westward expansion, and the importance of indigenous technological innovation.
Keywords: Biological Innovation; Productivity Growth; Cotton Economy; Antebellum South
JEL Codes: J43; N11; N5; O3
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| development and diffusion of new cotton varieties (O33) | increase in daily cotton picking rates (J82) |
| introduction of large-boll cotton varieties from Mexico (O54) | growth in picking efficiency (O47) |
| biological innovations (O35) | cotton yields (Q15) |
| development and diffusion of new cotton varieties (O33) | rise in labor productivity (J24) |