Pudding, plague and education: trade and human capital formation in an agrarian economy

Kammas, Pantelis, Sakalis, Argyris and Sarantides, Vassilis (2021) Pudding, plague and education: trade and human capital formation in an agrarian economy. GreeSE Papers (164). Hellenic Observatory, London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK.

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Abstract

During the late 19th century, the increasing popularity of pudding in England, along with the outbreak of phylloxera plague in French vineyards had an unintended effect in the agrarian economy of Greece. In particular, these events escalated the international demand and production of currants in Greece during the 1870s, causing an unprecedented positive shock that was transmitted through trade in the agricultural population. Using novel data from historical archives, we explore how this exogenous event affected investment towards human capital. Consistent with expectations, in an agrarian economy that specializes in unskilled labour-intensive agricultural goods, this shock had a negative effect on human capital formation.

Item Type:	Monograph (Discussion Paper)
Official URL:	https://www.lse.ac.uk/Hellenic-Observatory/Publica...
Additional Information:	© 2021 The Authors
Divisions:	LSE
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor S Agriculture > S Agriculture (General) D History General and Old World > DF Greece
JEL classification:	J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J2 - Time Allocation, Work Behavior, and Employment Determination and Creation; Human Capital; Retirement > J24 - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity N - Economic History > N3 - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Income, and Wealth > N33 - Economic History: Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Income and Wealth: Europe: Pre-1913 O - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth > O1 - Economic Development > O15 - Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
Date Deposited:	07 Oct 2021 08:39
Last Modified:	15 Sep 2023 23:54
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/112206

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