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Religious Culture and Economic Performance: Agricultural Productivity of the Amish, 1850–80

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 March 2009

Metin M. Coşgel
Metin M. Coşgel
Affiliation:
University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269-1063.
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Abstract

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The farming practices of the Amish have differed in various ways from those of other farmers. I use the information from federal census schedules to examine the differences during the period 1850 to 1880 in light of Amish culture. Amish farmers did not resist technological change during 1850–80, but the evidence shows other systematic differences. They adopted distinct patterns in investment to ensure the survival of their religious culture, which in turn affected their relative performance.

Type
Papers Presented at the Fifty-Second Annual Meeting of the Economic History Association
Information
The Journal of Economic History , Volume 53 , Issue 2 , June 1993 , pp. 319 - 331
Copyright
Copyright © The Economic History Association 1993

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