Chapter Two. Productivity Changes In Shipping In The Dutch Republic: The Evidence From Freight Rates, 1550–1800

Tielhof, M. van; Zanden, Jan Luiten van

doi:10.1163/ej.9789004194397.i-464.15

Cited by 5 publications

(8 citation statements)

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“…Numerous studies have shown rising labor productivity in shipping (e.g. Lucassen and Unger, 2011;van Zanden and van Tielhof, 2009;van Tielhof and van Zanden, 2011). 1 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Deskilling and decline in skill premium during the age of sail: Swedish and Finnish seamen, 1751–1913

Ojala

Pehkonen

Eloranta

2016

Explorations in Economic History

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The study examines the evolution of skill premium and share at industry level in shipping during the age of sail. We argue that the period from the 1750s to the 1910s represented deskilling for the seamen working n sailing ships. The growth of international trade and shipping during the first era of globalization increased the overall demand for sailors but decreased the relative demand for skilled labor in favor of less skilled ones. This deskilling was associated with a decline in wage inequality, as the premium for high skilled seamen fell relative to mean wages in the shipping industry. The decline in skill premium may have facilitated the growth of trade and shipping, as the relative costs of transport declined. This in turn might have hastened the first era of globalization.

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“…Numerous studies have shown rising labor productivity in shipping (e.g. Lucassen and Unger, 2011;van Zanden and van Tielhof, 2009;van Tielhof and van Zanden, 2011). 1 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Deskilling and decline in skill premium during the age of sail: Swedish and Finnish seamen, 1751–1913

Ojala

Pehkonen

Eloranta

2016

Explorations in Economic History

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“…Note thatVan Tielhof and Van Zanden (2011) find that real freight rates on Dutch shipping within Europe were also more or less constant during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. They interpret the rise in ton-man rates in Europe as a substitution of capital for labor rather than as a gain in efficiency.…”

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confidence: 86%

Opening to the East: Shipping Between Europe and Asia, 1770–1830

Solar¹

2013

J. Econ. Hist.

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Shipping costs between Europe and Asia were reduced by two-thirds between the 1770s and the 1820s. Copper sheathing and other technical improvements which allowed ships to make more frequent voyages over longer lifetimes accounted for part of the cost reduction. British hegemony in the Indian Ocean, which ended an eighteenth-century arms race, accounted for the rest by allowing the substitution of smaller ships which cost less to build and required fewer men per ton. These changes were at least as important as the elimination of monopoly profits in narrowing intercontinental price differentials during the early nineteenth century. efore the nineteenth century, a trading voyage between Europe and Asia was long, arduous, and dangerous. The round trip generally took close to two years. Mortality of sailors was often high, and many ships were lost, wrecked, or captured. The only commodities which could bear the cost of freight were high-value, low-volume items such as tea, spices, raw silk, and cotton and silk textiles. These goods were sold in Europe for much higher prices than they had been purchased for in Asia. Kevin O'Rourke and Jeffrey Williamson (2002) have argued that although there was a trade boom in such goods, there was little

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“…On the one hand, they sought to control the distribution, price, storage, and consumption of crops (Rahlf, 1996), on the other hand, they attempted to increase the import of grain-often at great cost and over long distances (Krämer, 2015;Palm, 2022;Persson, 1999;Seppel, 2015). The sudden rise of the Baltic grain trade has often been identified as a reaction to periods of severe food shortage during the 16th century (van Tielhof, 2002). Other common government measures were exemption from taxes and fees in famine years or, more typically, the deferment of payment (Huhtamaa et al, 2022), albeit less formalized than, for example, in China during the same period (Shiue, 2004).…”

Section: Governmental Intervention and Welfare Provisions In Famine P...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some of these studies combine and classify individual price hikes with case studies to qualify the impacts and consequences of high prices (Alfani & Ó Gr ada, 2017;Collet & Schuh, 2018). Since grain was the main source of calories (Federico & Malanima, 2004), changes in grain prices affected real wage levels and consumer patterns and, thus, the entire economy (e.g., Allen, 2000Allen, , 2001Appleby, 1979;Campbell, 2010;van Zanden, 1999) by determining taxes, and land rents, and rural-urban relations (Edvinsson, 2009;Le Roy Ladurie & Goy, 1982;Leijonhufvud, 2001). An insufficient supply of grain triggered price increases for all types of food (Rahlf, 1996), exacerbating poverty and malnutrition (Abel, 1974;Alfani & Ó Gr ada, 2018;Mauelshagen, 2010).…”

Section: Food Price Increasesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this slowly shifting societal setting, other adaptations could contribute more efficiently: The trade in food, in particular grain, became more effective and extensive (Chilosi & Federico, 2021; Federico et al, 2021), and grain price fluctuations between years (i.e., price volatility) decreased during the 18th century (Chilosi et al, 2013; Persson, 1999). Crucial to this development was better transport infrastructure (Albers & Pfister, 2021; van Tielhof & Van Zanden, 2011) and improved information exchange within Europe (Volckart, 2007). Less extensive and devastating wars in Europe, and less disruptive social unrest certainly also played a role in improving food security (Findlay & O'Rourke, 2003).…”

Section: The Decline Of Famines In Europementioning

confidence: 99%

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Famines in medieval and early modern Europe—Connecting climate and society

Ljungqvist,

Seim,

Collet

2023

WIREs Climate Change

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The article evaluates recent scholarship on famines in Europe during the medieval and early modern periods (c. 700–1800), synthesizing the state‐of‐the‐art knowledge and identifying both research gaps and interdisciplinary potentials. Particular focus is placed on how, and to what extent, climatic change and variability is given explanatory power in famine causation. Current research, supported by recent advances in palaeoclimatology, reveals that anomalous cold conditions constituted the main environmental backdrop for severe food production crises that could result in famines in pre‐industrial Europe. Such food crises occurred most frequently between c. 1550 and 1710, during the climax of the Little Ice Age cooling, and can be connected to the strong dependency on grain in Europe during this period. The available body of scholarship demonstrates that famines in medieval and early modern Europe best can be understood as the result of the interactions of climatic and societal stressors responding to pre‐existing vulnerabilities. Recent research has shown that societal responses to these famines, and the appropriation of their consequences, have been much more comprehensive, dynamic, and substantial than previously assumed. The article concludes by providing recommendations for future studies on historical famines.This article is categorized under: Climate, History, Society, Culture > Major Historical Eras Climate, History, Society, Culture > Disciplinary Perspectives Paleoclimates and Current Trends > Paleoclimate

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Chapter Two. Productivity Changes In Shipping In The Dutch Republic: The Evidence From Freight Rates, 1550–1800

Cited by 5 publications

References 0 publications

Deskilling and decline in skill premium during the age of sail: Swedish and Finnish seamen, 1751–1913

Deskilling and decline in skill premium during the age of sail: Swedish and Finnish seamen, 1751–1913

Opening to the East: Shipping Between Europe and Asia, 1770–1830

Famines in medieval and early modern Europe—Connecting climate and society

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