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Human Capital Formation from Occupations: The ‘Deskilling Hypothesis’ Revisited

Author

Listed:
  • Pleijt, Alexandra M. de

    (Utrecht University)

  • Weisdorf, Jacob L.

    (Utrecht University)

Abstract
We use HISCLASS to code the occupational titles of over 30,000 English male workers according to the skill-content of their work. We then track the evolution of the sampled working skills across three centuries of English history, from 1550 to 1850. We observe a modest rise in the share of ‘high-quality workmen’ deemed necessary by Mokyr and others to facilitate the Industrial Revolution, including machine erectors and operators. But we also find remarkable growth in the share of unskilled workers, rising from 20% in the late sixteenth century to nearly 40% in the early nineteenth century, caused mainly by falling shares of semi-skilled, blue-collar workers. Close inspection of the occupational structures within the main sectors of production suggest that deskilling occurred in agriculture and industry alike, prompted by land concentration in agriculture and workshop-to-factory changes in industry.

Suggested Citation

  • Pleijt, Alexandra M. de & Weisdorf, Jacob L., 2015. "Human Capital Formation from Occupations: The ‘Deskilling Hypothesis’ Revisited," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 222, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).
    • Handle: RePEc:cge:wacage:222
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gregory Clark, 2005. "The Condition of the Working Class in England, 1209-2004," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 113(6), pages 1307-1340, December.
    2. Broadberry,Stephen & Campbell,Bruce M. S. & Klein,Alexander & Overton,Mark & van Leeuwen,Bas, 2015. "British Economic Growth, 1270–1870," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781107070783, September.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Deskilling; HISCLASS; Human Capital; Industrial Revolution; Occupations;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • N33 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - Europe: Pre-1913
    • O10 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - General

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