Biological Innovation and Productivity Growth in the Antebellum Cotton Economy
利用142个种植园509个作物年的记录，发现1801至1862年间棉花日均采摘率增长约四倍，主要源于新棉花品种的开发与推广，对理解美国南方在全球棉花市场的主导地位、西进扩张速度及本土技术创新的重要性有启示。
The cliometrics literature on slave efficiency has generally focused on static questions. We take a decidedly more dynamic approach. Drawing on the records of 142 plantations with 509 crops years, we show that the average daily cotton-picking rate increased about fourfold between 1801 and 1862. We argue that the development and diffusion of new cotton varieties were the primary sources of the increased efficiency. These findings have broad implications for understanding the South's preeminence in the world cotton market, the pace of westward expansion, and the importance of indigenous technological innovation.