2008/12/01 by Alan L. Olmstead, ALAN L. OLMSTEAD, Paul W. Rhode +1 · 1 citation
Social Sciences · #African history and culture studies #Agricultural economics #Biology #Ecology #Economic geography #Economic growth #Economics #Economy #Geography #Indigenous #Macroeconomics #Pace #Productivity #Technological change
paper · doi:10.1017/s0022050708000831
openalex publication_date 2008/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/25
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 fourfold between 1801 and 1862. We argue that the development and diffusion of new cotton varieties were the primary sources of the increased efficiency. These findings 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.