Making and Trading Dress and Décor in Seventeenth-century Scotland

In seventeenth-century Scotland textiles were made in most districts and marketed widely at home and overseas. Woollens and linens, yarn, cloth, bonnets and stockings, with clear regional specialisations, were manufactured, but they were all of low cost and quality. Comparative advantage came from low rural wages. The wide distribution and character of textile production in the seventeenth century proved of great importance for post-Union success. Among imports the variety and social spread of luxury widened and deepened, though demand was restricted to the upper classes and the middling orders in Edinburgh and other large burghs. The seventeenth century, especially the second half, was a time of widening consumption of exotic articles such as tobacco, sugar and coffee among consumables, Asian silks and cottons (and their imitations) as articles of dress, and wall-hangings and pictures as décor. The social anxiety and economic stress this engendered gave rise to sumptuary laws like that of 1681. These had limited impact, though imports remained sensitive to tariffs. The letters of Andrew Russell, a merchant resident in Rotterdam between 1668 and 1697, demonstrate how this trade was carried out in both directions, and how the market responded to governmental attempts at control.

Revisiting the relationship between farm mechanization and labour requirement in India

In many developing and emerging economies, better employment opportunities in the non-farm sector have increased rural wages due to labour shortages during the peak agricultural season. Increasing wages often cause a substitution of labour for mechanical power, but extensive use of labour-saving technologies may cause labour displacement and have serious equity concerns. Using the household and individual fixed effect estimation approach, this paper analyses the relationship between different types of farm machines and labour requirements in India. The results suggest that a unit increase in the level of farm mechanization increases the demand for hired labour by 12%. Moreover, we find that the level of farm mechanization has a positive effect on women’s participation in farm work, while it decreases the probability of children participating in agriculture-related work. Disaggregated analysis based on types of farm machinery suggests that water-lifting equipment, draft power and tractors increase the probability of male household members working on their farms, while all types of farm machines, except tractors, have a positive effect on female farm labour participation. We also find that the effect of farm mechanization on the demand for hired labour decreases as the size of the farm increases.

An Insight into Wage Dynamics and Inequality Scenario under Changing Landscape of Rural India

This article examined the level and recent trends in rural wages, the extent of the wage gap and inequality across the states in agriculture. Recent trends showed a continuous and persistent rise in real wages for agricultural and non-farm activities in rural areas. Inequality in wage rate was lower among diverse agricultural operations within and across the year(s). Regression analysis indicated that the wage rate was agriculture was positively influenced by productivity, period and labour availability. Effective implementation of minimum wage law and equal pay for work of equal value would reduce the wage gap and inequality.

Development and Rural–Urban Migration

Economic development is associated with rural–urban migration. Low rural wages provide a supply push to move to urban areas, while higher urban wages act as a demand pull attraction. Lewis believed that the marginal productivity of many workers employed in agriculture was near zero, so that workers could leave agriculture and hold down urban wages while the remaining farmers maintained the supply of food, justifying government neglect of agriculture in favor of industry. Todaro emphasized that high urban wages encouraged rural residents to move to cities without guaranteed jobs. Schultz argued that the best government policy was to improve education and health care in rural areas to ensure that rural residents are productive whether they stay in rural areas or move to cities. Most countries agricultural systems obey 80–20 rules: 80 % of farms are small and account for 20% of farm output, while 20% of farms are large and account for 80 % of farm output.

Capital Formation and Agricultural Growth in China

The paper considers the role and determinants of capital formation in Chinese agriculture and, in particular, the effects of capital formation on agricultural total factor productivity (TFP) growth. The results show that capital investment in agriculture by both government and farmers has risen significantly in the past two and a half decades, particularly in recent years. As China remains in the early stages of agricultural policy transition, its political economy would suggest that there will likely be more public investment in, and more subsidies to, agriculture in the coming years. Increased public investment in agriculture appears to have also induced increased farmers' capital formation in agriculture. Credit policy, the overall growth of farmer's income, rural wages, and comparative advantage of commodities are important factors that may facilitate farmers' investment in agriculture. The results also show that the successful growth of China's agriculture has been associated with its high TFP growth. Both public and private agricultural capital formations have played an important role in raising China's agricultural productivity. The TFP decomposition analyses show that technological change is a primary driver of the TFP growth in China's agriculture.