Although there are many competing explanations for the Industrial Revolution, there has been no effort to evaluate them econometrically. This paper analyzes how the very different patterns of growth across the counties of England between the 1760s and 1830s can be explained by a wide range of potential variables. We find that industrialization occurred in areas that began with low wages but high mechanical skills, whereas other variables, such as literacy, banks, and proximity to coal, have little explanatory power. Against the view that living standards were stagnant during the Industrial Revolution, we find that real wages rose sharply in the industrializing north and declined in the previously prosperous south.

中文翻译：

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工业革命的机制

尽管对工业革命有许多相互矛盾的解释，但还没有人努力从计量经济学的角度对其进行评估。本文分析了 1760 年代至 1830 年代英格兰各县之间截然不同的增长模式如何可以用广泛的潜在变量来解释。我们发现工业化发生在一开始工资低但机械技能高的地区，而其他变量，如识字率、银行和与煤炭的接近程度，几乎没有解释力。与工业革命期间生活水平停滞不前的观点相反，我们发现实际工资在工业化的北方急剧上升，而在先前繁荣的南方则下降。