Richard roehl – french industrialisation: a reconstruction
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Sir John Clapham: “it might be said that France never went through an industrial revolution”

Statistics do not show French economy as stagnant from 19^th century onward: 1841-50 to 1960-2 French rate of growth per decade is 20% better than Britain except for 1780-1881 Gerschenkron material output increased 4 times between 1825 and 1909

How did we account for the persistence of the general view of the French economy as stagnant from 19^th century onward

Failure of some dramatic breakthrough to appear, absence marked acceleration in the growth of the economy Marczewski could not find a Rostow take-off period, and discernible change 18^th century.

Kemp – so much work on retardation and reasons real growth France 1789 and 1940 overlooked, underestimated. Roehl – Kemp right but symptoms of retardation are not those of retardation.

French Economy 18^th Century

Traditional View: Until late 17^th century relatively strong an healthy – by 19^th troubled and stagnant – 17^th century wealth and [power to 19^th century retarded industrialisation – 18^th century period when roots of subsequent problems implanted Roehl Modern Economic Growth in France has its beginnings here – 19^th century becomes explicable – represents long term trend of economic growth

France seems somehow to have had an industrial revolution without its being noticed.

Proposition: France was in fact first country to commence upon the path toward the end (I).

Uses Gerschenkron’s series propositions accurately describe nature of the process of industrialisation in a relatively backward country produces a set of the observable characteristics of industrialisation in the relatively least backward state – first country to commence industrialisation.

Gerschenkron: greater degree of relative backwardness on the eve of industrialisation the more marked the extent of the process of industrialization

Other Notes in this Category

1. Adaptations of the Traditional Sector
2. Conclusions
3. Definitions and Historiography
4. Direct Transfer
5. Economic Growth in france and britain, 1830-1910 –a review of the evidence
6. Grantham: survey of cliometric contributions to french economic history
7. Growth Rates, Data and Methods
8. Indirect, Embodied Transfer
9. Kindelberger’s review of keyder and o’brien
10. Pioneer industrialiser
11. Post 1750 Growth Coke-Smelting Sector
12. Richard roehl – french industrialisation: a reconstruction
13. Structural Change
14. Technological Transfer: failure, partial adaptations, success
15. The Innovations of the coke blast furnace, of puddling and rolling
16. The modern technology breakthrough ‘right down the line’
17. Tom Kemp – industrialization in nineteenth century europe

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