Book contents
- Empires of Labor
- Empires of Labor
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Tables
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Part I Labor Rules and Colonization
- Part II The Economics of Bondage
- 4 The Russian Empire and the Economic Dynamics of Serfdom
- 5 Labor and the British Industrial Revolution
- 6 International Trade, Slavery and the Industrial Revolution
- 7 With or without You
- Part III Labor Empires under Attack
- Bibliography
- Index
4 - The Russian Empire and the Economic Dynamics of Serfdom
from Part II - The Economics of Bondage
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 30 November 2025
Book contents
- Empires of Labor
- Empires of Labor
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Tables
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Part I Labor Rules and Colonization
- Part II The Economics of Bondage
- 4 The Russian Empire and the Economic Dynamics of Serfdom
- 5 Labor and the British Industrial Revolution
- 6 International Trade, Slavery and the Industrial Revolution
- 7 With or without You
- Part III Labor Empires under Attack
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
Contrary to popular opinion, economic growth under serfdom was far from negligible, especially in the eighteenth century. These dynamics are explained, as well as the slow path of growth in the first half of the nineteenth century, which is related not only to wars, but also to the impact on Russia of the rise of the Atlantic and the Great Divergence. Moreover, unlike the Western empires, the Russian empire was far from being profitable during this period.
Information
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- Empires of LaborCoercion and the Making of the Modern World, pp. 121 - 135Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2025
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