• DOI:10.1017/S0022050700047458
• Corpus ID: 24601477

Why Isn't the Whole World Developed? Lessons from the Cotton Mills

@article{Clark1987WhyIT,
  title={Why Isn't the Whole World Developed? Lessons from the Cotton Mills},
  author={Gregory Clark},
  journal={The Journal of Economic History},
  year={1987},
  volume={47},
  pages={141 - 173},
  url={https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:24601477}
}

• G. Clark
• Published in Journal Economic History 1 March 1987
• Economics, History

In 1910 one New England cotton textile operative performed as much work as 1.5 British, 2.3 German, and nearly 6 Greek, Japanese, Indian, or Chinese workers. Input substitution, and differences in technology, management, and workers' training or inherent abilities do not explain this. Instead local culture seems to have determined worker performance. Such differences, if widespread, would explain much of the international variation in wages. They also have important consequences for… 

In 1910 one New England cotton textile operative performed as much work as 1.5 British, 2.3 German, and nearly 6 Greek, Japanese, Indian, or Chinese workers. Input substitution, and differences in technology, management, and workers' training or inherent abilities do not explain this. Instead local culture seems to have determined worker performance. Such differences, if widespread, would explain much of the international variation in wages. They also have important consequences for understanding labor migration, the choice of technique, and the sources of economic growth.