Now showing 1 - 10 of 13
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Height and health in the United Kingdom 1815–1860 : evidence from the East India company army

1994-06, Mokyr, Joel, Ó Gráda, Cormac

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The height of Irishmen and Englishmen in the 1770's : some evidence from the East India Company Army records

1989, Mokyr, Joel, Ó Gráda, Cormac

This article compares the heights of 1,000 Irish and English men recruited for service in India by the East India Company in the late 1770s and early 1780s. The height data serves as a guide to determining the economic conditions of various regions in Ireland and England. Despite the law against Irish recruitment, Robert Brooke, an Irish soldier, entrepreneur and administrator, "turned a blind eye" to recruiting Irish men for the East India Company. Many had native Irish surnames, suggesting a "strong catholic representation" among Brooke’s recruits. Included are various tables and graphs, which show the Irish in each age group to be taller and to have reached adult height at an earlier age than the English. Furthermore, the height data suggests that despite coming from a conventionally poorer socio-economic background, the Irish recruits were healthier than the English recruits. The article includes biographical background on Brooke, a letter from the East India Company to the British government asking for Irish recruitment, and statistics of deaths, desertion and transfers among Brooke’s men.

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New developments in Irish population history 1700-1850

1983-12, Mokyr, Joel, Ó Gráda, Cormac

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Emigration and poverty in prefamine Ireland

1982-06, Mokyr, Joel, Ó Gráda, Cormac

Emigration was a crucial element in Irish population change during the half century before the Great Famine. The size and composition of the outward flow worried some, and caused considerable debate. Majority opinion held that emigration was likely to benefit economically both those who left and those who stayed behind. This paper uses an untapped source - ship passenger lists - to determine some relevant emigrant characteristics, and uses it to check for likely losses to the stay-at-homes from the 'quality' and age structure of the flow.

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The heights of the British and the Irish c. 1800-1815 : evidence from recruits to the East India Company's army

1990-07, Mokyr, Joel, Ó Gráda, Cormac

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The height of Irishmen and Englishmen in the 1770's : some evidence from the East India Company Army records

1988-11, Mokyr, Joel, Ó Gráda, Cormac

This article compares the heights of 1,000 Irish and English men recruited for service in India by the East India Company in the late 1770s and early 1780s. The height data serves as a guide to determining the economic conditions of various regions in Ireland and England. Despite the law against Irish recruitment, Robert Brooke, an Irish soldier, entrepreneur and administrator, "turned a blind eye" to recruiting Irish men for the East India Company. Many had native Irish surnames, suggesting a "strong catholic representation" among Brooke’s recruits. Included are various tables and graphs, which show the Irish in each age group to be taller and to have reached adult height at an earlier age than the English. Furthermore, the height data suggests that despite coming from a conventionally poorer socio-economic background, the Irish recruits were healthier than the English recruits. The article includes biographical background on Brooke, a letter from the East India Company to the British government asking for Irish recruitment, and statistics of deaths, desertion and transfers among Brooke’s men.

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From poor to poorer? Living standards in Ireland before the famine : a new look

1985-04, Mokyr, Joel, Ó Gráda, Cormac

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The Mechanics of the Industrial Revolution

2020-06, Kelly, Morgan, Mokyr, Joel, Ó Gráda, Cormac

For contemporaries, Britain’s success in developing the technologies of the early Industrial Revolution rested in large part on its abundant supply of artisan skills, notably in metalworking. In this paper we outline a simple process where successful industrialization occurs in regions that start with low wages and high mechanical skills, and show that these two factors strongly explain the growth of the textile industry across the 41 counties of England between the 1760s and 1830s. By contrast, literacy and access to capital have no power in predicting industrialization, nor does proximity to coal. Although unimportant as a source of power for early textile machinery, Britain’s coal was vital as a source of cheap heat that allowed it over centuries to develop a unique range of sophisticated metalworking industries. From these activities came artisans, from watchmakers to iron founders, whose industrial skills were in demand not just in Britain but across all of Europe. Against the view that living standards were stagnant during the Industrial Revolution, we find that real wages rose sharply in the industrializing north and collapsed in the previously prosperous south.

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Living standards in Ireland and Britain, 1800-1850 : the East India Company Army data

1986-10, Mokyr, Joel, Ó Gráda, Cormac

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Precocious Albion: a new interpretation of the British industrial revolution

2013-09, Kelly, Morgan, Mokyr, Joel, Ó Gráda, Cormac

Why was Britain the cradle of the Industrial Revolution? Answers vary: some focus on resource endowments, some on institutions, some on the role of empire. In this paper, we argue for the role of labour force quality or human capital. Instead of dwelling on mediocre schooling and literacy rates, we highlight instead the physical condition of the average British worker and his higher endowment of skills. These advantages meant that British workers were more productive and better paid than their Continental counterparts and better equipped to capitalize on the technological opportunities and challenges confronting them. non-peer-reviewed