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

Donghyu Yang ; Shin-Haing Kim

Professor Emeritus of Economics, School of Economics, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-742, Korea shk@plaza.snu.ac.kr
Professor of Economics, School of Economics, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-742, Korea dyang@snu.ac.kr

JEL Classification: J11, N10

Abstract

Population and wage records from the Chosŏn Dynasty of Korea from 18^th to 19^th 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 18^th to 19^th centuries. Essentially, Chosŏn remained under the typical Malthusian stationary state.

Keywords:

Malthusian trap, Chosŏn economy, Britain's industrial revolution

Acknowledgments

We appreciate the comments of the anonymous referee on the original version of this paper. The comments helped improve this paper substantially. We also appreciate the comments made by the members of the Economic History Workshop of Seoul National University.

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