Learning, Capital Accumulation, and the Transformation of California Agriculture

B-Tier
Journal: Journal of Economic History
Year: 1995
Volume: 55
Issue: 4
Pages: 773-800

Score contribution per author:

2.011 = (α=2.01 / 1 authors) × 1.0x B-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

Between 1890 and 1914, California agriculture rapidly shifted from extensive to intensive crops, emerging as one of the world's major suppliers of Mediterranean products. Based on an analysis of new data on price and quantity movements, this article calls into question the traditional emphasis on changes in transportation, water, and labor market conditions as explanations for California's transformation. It argues that increases in fruit supply outpaced increases in demand and that declining farm interest rates and biological learning played crucial, if relatively neglected, roles in the intensification process.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:cup:jechis:v:55:y:1995:i:04:p:773-800_04
Journal Field
Economic History
Author Count
1
Added to Database
2026-01-29