Free Economics Dissertations - One Of The Reasons Why Ireland Despite Its Hard Working Population Remained
One of the reasons why Ireland despite its hard working population remained behind its English counterpart is the unstable demand and supply of raw materials and skills. The unstable land system as well as the consistent migration of the workforce not only led to inevitable fluctuations in demand for the final product but also created a gap in industrial progress again Britain. As Mokyr (1983) notes:
"It would be more accurate to say that the failure to accumulate capital and the industrial failure of Ireland were by and large the same thing. Capital goods, such as buildings, plant equipment, machinery, inventories, and trained personnel, carried the new technology, which made better and cheaper goods and provided jobs for displaced workers from rural areas. Capital accumulation was not a cause of the Industrial Revolution, and its absence was not a cause of its failure. Rather, investment was a mechanism through which deeper factors in the economy transmitted signals resulting either in successful industrialization as in Britain, Belgium, or Switzerland, or in late and slow industrialization as in the Netherlands or Ireland."
Ireland's setback in industrialization could also be attributed to the lack of modernization in agricultural sector (Goldstrom 1969). Before industrialization in any country, agriculture has to be modernized. Ireland in this regard clearly lacked any kind of progress as its agricultural land and system were dominated by the disinterested landowners. Consequently, the rural areas (which comprise the majority of the economic contribution) did not progress rather further deteriorated after the Great Famine. Capital accumulation occurred but was not reinvested nor was they used to better farming conditions. Thus the exogenous behaviour of the industrialists, agriculturalists and landowners not only hindered economic development but also contributed to its deterioration (Crotty, 1966).
Conclusion
From the above discussion one can observe that the Irish economy before the Great Famine period was heavily burdened by over population and great reliance on agricultural crops. Disparity created by the gap between the peasant, working labour and landowners class contributed to a weakening economy. During the famine years this condition is further deteriorated due to several factors. Some of these include the great reliance on agricultural land cultivating potato crops for subsistence living. The unwillingness of the landowners to invest in better farming and cultivation led to over reliance on potatoes. Consecutive failed crops not only created a large gap in profit but also income for the poor.
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