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The Impact of the Irish on British Labor Markets During the Industrial Revolution

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 March 2009

Jeffrey G. Williamson
Jeffrey G. Williamson
Affiliation:
Professor of Economics at Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138.
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Abstract

The Irish immigrations during the First Industrial Revolution serve to complicate any assessment of Britain's economic performance up to the 1850s. This paper estimates the size of the Irish immigrations and explores its impact on real wages, rural-urban migration, and industrialization. Using a general equilibrium model, the paper finds that the Irish did not play a significant role in accounting for rising inequality, lagging real wages, or rapid industrialization.

Type
Articles
Information
The Journal of Economic History , Volume 46 , Issue 3 , September 1986 , pp. 693 - 720
Copyright
Copyright © The Economic History Association 1986

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