ABSTRACT

New TFP estimates drawn from the neglected census of 1831 for Lower Canada are used to test the controversial (but still dominant) traditional “poor French farmers” explanation for a prolonged economic crisis. The new evidence shows that French-speaking areas were equally as productive as English-speaking areas, something that upturns the established consensus and reinforces the minority viewpoint that culture had little to do with the crisis. Using a broad range of controls, the researchers find that this conclusion is robust and that other variables such as settlement recency, environment, and economic structure were much more significant determinants of TFP. These results warrant the abandonment of the cultural explanation and a shift toward other explanatory channels.

摘要

从1831年加拿大下层人口普查中被忽视的人口普查得出的新的TFP估算值用于检验有争议（但仍占主导地位）的传统“贫困法国农民”对长期经济危机的解释。新的证据表明，讲法语的地区和讲英语的地区具有同等的生产力，这颠覆了既定的共识，并强化了少数派认为文化与危机无关的观点。研究人员发现，使用广泛的控制手段，该结论是可靠的，而其他变量（例如定居点的新近度，环境和经济结构）是TFP的重要决定因素。这些结果保证了文化解释的放弃，并转向了其他解释渠道。