The Isolated Peasant. Long-term Growth in Demand and Spatial Patterns of Agricultural Supply in Southern Sweden, 1702-1857
(2009)Department of Economic History
- Abstract
- Previous research has found clear spatial patterns of agricultural supply, both in pre-industrial Europe (Grantham 1978; Grantham 1989; Kopsidis 2009) and in the less developed countries of today (Benziger 1996; Stifel & Minten 2008). The spatial structure of farming intensity is mainly attributed to the declining net-returns with the distance from the market. This paper examines the impact of distance on agricultural productivity and whether the long-term growth in demand had a diminishing impact on the spatial variation in farming intensity. The analysis is carried out by using a database on estimates of agricultural production on the micro-level together with additional information on distance from a map from the 19th century for about... (More)
- Previous research has found clear spatial patterns of agricultural supply, both in pre-industrial Europe (Grantham 1978; Grantham 1989; Kopsidis 2009) and in the less developed countries of today (Benziger 1996; Stifel & Minten 2008). The spatial structure of farming intensity is mainly attributed to the declining net-returns with the distance from the market. This paper examines the impact of distance on agricultural productivity and whether the long-term growth in demand had a diminishing impact on the spatial variation in farming intensity. The analysis is carried out by using a database on estimates of agricultural production on the micro-level together with additional information on distance from a map from the 19th century for about 2200 farm households in the province of Scania in southern Sweden during the period 1702-1857. The effect of distance on agricultural production is studied with a general least square regression (GLS) for the time periods 1702-1775, 1776-1825 and 1826-1857. The results demonstrate a distinct spatial variation in farming intensity in southern Sweden. Further, the findings also show that the spatial patterns of agricultural supply even increased over time, despite a considerable growth in demand. Overall, the results indicate that increasing demand in itself was not a sufficient pre-condition for reducing the spatial variation in farming intensity. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/1502494
- author
- Bergenfeldt, Fredrik
- supervisor
- organization
- year
- 2009
- type
- H1 - Master's Degree (One Year)
- subject
- keywords
- spatial patterns of agricultural supply, growth in demand, von Thünen, distance, markets, town., Social and economic history, Ekonomisk och social historia
- language
- English
- id
- 1502494
- date added to LUP
- 2009-09-21 00:00:00
- date last changed
- 2010-08-03 10:52:48
@misc{1502494,
abstract = {{Previous research has found clear spatial patterns of agricultural supply, both in pre-industrial Europe (Grantham 1978; Grantham 1989; Kopsidis 2009) and in the less developed countries of today (Benziger 1996; Stifel & Minten 2008). The spatial structure of farming intensity is mainly attributed to the declining net-returns with the distance from the market. This paper examines the impact of distance on agricultural productivity and whether the long-term growth in demand had a diminishing impact on the spatial variation in farming intensity. The analysis is carried out by using a database on estimates of agricultural production on the micro-level together with additional information on distance from a map from the 19th century for about 2200 farm households in the province of Scania in southern Sweden during the period 1702-1857. The effect of distance on agricultural production is studied with a general least square regression (GLS) for the time periods 1702-1775, 1776-1825 and 1826-1857. The results demonstrate a distinct spatial variation in farming intensity in southern Sweden. Further, the findings also show that the spatial patterns of agricultural supply even increased over time, despite a considerable growth in demand. Overall, the results indicate that increasing demand in itself was not a sufficient pre-condition for reducing the spatial variation in farming intensity.}},
author = {{Bergenfeldt, Fredrik}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{The Isolated Peasant. Long-term Growth in Demand and Spatial Patterns of Agricultural Supply in Southern Sweden, 1702-1857}},
year = {{2009}},
}