An Escape From the 'Malthusian Trap': A Case of the Chosŏn Dynasty of Korea from 1701 to 1891 Viewed in Light of the British Industrial Revolution

Seoul Journal of Economics, 2013, Vol. 26, No. 2, pp. 173-201

30 Pages Posted: 17 Jun 2013 Last revised: 18 Jul 2013

See all articles by Shin Haing Kim

Shin Haing Kim

Seoul National University

Donghyu Yang

Independent; Seoul National University

Date Written: May 30, 2013

Abstract

Population and wage records from the Chosŏn Dynasty of Korea from the 18th to 19th centuries are compared with Wrigley-Schofield’s wage-population dynamics of Britain during the industrial revolution. A one-sector agrarian Cobb-Douglas economy is proposed for a possible comparison of the two economies. Natural resources, such as land, are the limiting factors of production that binds an economy in the Malthusian trap. This paper argues that population size is critical for an economy to break through the Malthusian trap. The success of Britain in escaping from the Malthusian trap during the industrial revolution is examined in terms of the productivity of the agricultural sector. A self-generating population equilibrium model for the transitional phase of the post-Malthusian economy is proposed. No comparable productivity improvements in the agricultural sector of Chosŏn were observed during the corresponding periods of the British industrial revolution. No substantial changes in the population and wage rates occurred for the Chosŏn Dynasty in the 18th to 19th centuries. Essentially, Chosŏn remained under the typical Malthusian stationary state.

Keywords: Malthusian trap, Chosŏn economy, Britain's industrial revolution

JEL Classification: J11, N10

Suggested Citation

Kim, Shin Haing and Yang, Donghyu and Yang, Donghyu, An Escape From the 'Malthusian Trap': A Case of the Chosŏn Dynasty of Korea from 1701 to 1891 Viewed in Light of the British Industrial Revolution (May 30, 2013). Seoul Journal of Economics, 2013, Vol. 26, No. 2, pp. 173-201, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2280167

Shin Haing Kim (Contact Author)

Seoul National University ( email )

Kwanak-gu
Seoul, 151-742
Korea, Republic of (South Korea)

Donghyu Yang

Seoul National University ( email )

San 56-1, Silim-dong, Kwanak-ku
Seoul 151-742
Korea

Independent ( email )

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