Economic Effects of Coerced Labor: Evidence from the Emancipation of Serfs in Russia
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چکیده
Using the variation in the shares of serfs across provinces of the Russian empire in the 19 century and the difference in timing of emancipation of different types of serfs, we estimate the effect of serfdom on agricultural productivity, peasants’ living standards, and industrial development using difference-in-differences estimator with region-specific trends. In contrast to the 19 century US, on average, agriculture based on forced labor was less productive in Russia than agriculture involving free labor. The emancipation caused substantial increases both in agricultural productivity and peasant food consumption. Contractual differences in organization of serfdom were associated with different levels of productivity and wellbeing of serfs. Estates where serfs were obliged to work on the landlord’s farm for a certain amount of time (corvee, barschina) were less productive and were associated with lower nutrition of peasantry, particularly, in smaller estates as compared to estates where serfs were required to make in kind payment to the landlord out of product produced on peasant-cultivated plots (quitrent, obrok). Emancipation caused a boost to Russia’s industrial development: provinces with higher prevalence of serfdom experienced higher increases in industrial output and the number of industrial workers. a PRELIMINARY, NOT FOR CITATION. Andrei Markevich is from the New Economic School and the University of Warwick. Ekaterina Zhuravskaya is from Paris School of Economics (EHESS) and the New Economic School. Corresponding Author: Andrei Markevich, address: New Economic School, Office 1902, 47 Nakhimovsky Prospekt, Moscow 117418, Russian Federation. Email: [email protected]; Tel: +7 (495) 956-9508, ext. 257; Fax: +7 (499) 129 3722.
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تاریخ انتشار 2013