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Ó Gráda, Cormac
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Ó Gráda, Cormac
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Ó Gráda, Cormac
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Now showing 1 - 10 of 199
- PublicationSpeed under Sail, 1750-1850We measure technological progress in oceanic shipping by using a large database of daily log entries from ships of the British and Dutch navies and East India Companies to estimate daily sailing speed in different wind conditions from 1750 to 1850. Against the consensus, dating back to North (1958, 1968), that the technology of sailing ships was static during this period, we find that average sailing speed in a moderate breeze (the usual summer conditions in the North Atlantic) rose by one third between 1780 and 1830; with greater increases at lower wind speeds. About one third of this improvement occurs when hulls are first copper plated in the 1780s, but the rest appears to be the result of incremental improvements in sails, rigging, and hull profiles.
806 - PublicationDemography, food production and famine risks in the 21st centuryThe main purpose of this paper is to address the question of whether the world can feed itself during the 21st Century. We start with a brief review of the chief demographic effects of famines - with special reference to their possible practical significance. The paper then considers so-called 'neo-Malthusian' dimensions of famines - and, in particular, the widespread notion that population growth may outpace growth in the global food supply. We dismiss such concerns for the near term future. But we contend that in certain respects population growth and population scale may be of considerable significance apropos the risk of future famines - especially if cognisance is taken of issues of global sustainability, and the longer run. For reasons of efficiency our arguments are largely arranged in point form.
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