Bob Allen (economic historian)
Robert Carson Allen was born on the 10th of January 1947 in Salem, Massachusetts. He began his academic journey at Carleton College in Minnesota where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1969. The young scholar then moved to Harvard University for graduate studies. He completed his doctoral work there by 1975 with a focus on economic history. His dissertation examined the growth of the British iron and steel industry during the nineteenth century. This early research foreshadowed his lifelong interest in industrial development patterns.
Allen has held professor positions since 1973 starting at Hamilton College. He joined the Department of Economics at the University of British Columbia in 1975 and taught there for over two decades. A visiting professorship at Harvard University occurred during the 1993-94 academic year. In 2000 he became associated with the University of Oxford. From 2002 until 2013 he served as Professor of Economic History and a fellow of Nuffield College. He retired from Oxford University in 2013 after assuming the role of Global Distinguished Professor of Economic History at New York University Abu Dhabi. He remains a Senior Research Fellow at Nuffield College maintaining an active presence in scholarly research today.
His landmark book The British Industrial Revolution in Global Perspective published in 2009 argues that Britain's industrial takeoff was driven by high wages coupled with cheap energy resources. By the eighteenth century British wages were relatively high while fuel was inexpensive creating strong incentives for firms to develop labor-saving technologies. This thesis suggests coal-fueled innovations propelled industrialization rather than cultural factors alone. Key inventions such as the steam engine substituted capital and coal for labor breaking constraints of the traditional agrarian economy. The spinning jenny and coke-fired blast furnace also exemplified this substitution process. His analysis has sparked debate and prompted further research into regional wage and price data in early modern Europe.
Allen coined the term Engels' pause to describe the period from approximately 1790 to 1840 when British working-class real wages stagnated. During these decades output per capita grew rapidly even as living standards for laborers failed to improve significantly. The concept is named after Friedrich Engels observation of workers plight during the era. It underscores the delayed improvement in living standards for laborers in the early decades of industrial growth. This idea has become a staple discussion point regarding inequality during industrialization periods. A 2007 working paper titled Engels' Pause: A Pessimist`s Guide to the British Industrial Revolution expanded on these findings within the Economics Series Working Papers 315 at Oxford University.
Allen assembled long-term data on real wages prices and standards of living across Europe and Asia from the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries. His findings demonstrated that by the 1700s workers in parts of Northwestern Europe enjoyed significantly higher real wages than counterparts in China or India. These material differences in income levels and resource costs were fundamental to why the Industrial Revolution began in Britain rather than elsewhere. He challenged explanations that focus solely on culture or institutions as primary drivers of economic divergence. The gap between industrializing Western Europe and other world regions became known as the Great Divergence through his extensive research efforts.
His book Farm to Factory: A Reinterpretation of the Soviet Industrial Revolution published in 2003 analyzes the Soviet economic experience from the 1920s to the 1980s. Allen highlights the extraordinary industrial growth achieved through forced mobilization of resources shifting millions of workers from farm to factory. The study prioritized heavy industry investments over consumer goods during this period. It suggested that up to a point Soviet central planning was economically effective in achieving industrialization despite great human cost. This approach was not sustainable in the long run but represented a distinct strategy for rapid development compared to market economies.
Allen was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 1994 and a Fellow of the British Academy in 2003. He received the Ranki Prize of the Economic History Association for works published in 1992 and 2003. Additional honors include the Arthur H. Cole Prize awarded between 1979-80 and the Explorations Prize won in 2001-03 and 2009. His book British Industrial Revolution in Global Perspective was selected as a Book of the Year by both the Economist and Times Literary Supplement in 2009. He served as president of the Economic History Association during the 2012-13 term recognizing his leadership within the field.
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Common questions
When and where was Robert Carson Allen born?
Robert Carson Allen was born on the 10th of January 1947 in Salem, Massachusetts. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Carleton College in Minnesota in 1969 before completing his doctoral work at Harvard University by 1975.
What academic positions did Robert Carson Allen hold during his career?
Robert Carson Allen held professor positions starting with Hamilton College in 1973 and spent over two decades at the University of British Columbia until joining Oxford University in 2000. He served as Professor of Economic History at Nuffield College from 2002 to 2013 before becoming Global Distinguished Professor of Economic History at New York University Abu Dhabi.
What is the main argument of Robert Carson Allen's book The British Industrial Revolution in Global Perspective published in 2009?
The book argues that Britain's industrial takeoff was driven by high wages coupled with cheap energy resources rather than cultural factors alone. By the eighteenth century British wages were relatively high while fuel was inexpensive creating strong incentives for firms to develop labor-saving technologies like the steam engine.
How does Robert Carson Allen define Engels' pause regarding British economic history?
Robert Carson Allen coined the term Engels' pause to describe the period from approximately 1790 to 1840 when British working-class real wages stagnated despite rapid growth in output per capita. This concept highlights the delayed improvement in living standards for laborers in the early decades of industrial growth.
Why did the Industrial Revolution begin in Britain according to Robert Carson Allen's research on global divergence?
Robert Carson Allen demonstrated that workers in parts of Northwestern Europe enjoyed significantly higher real wages than counterparts in China or India by the 1700s. These material differences in income levels and resource costs were fundamental to why the Industrial Revolution began in Britain rather than elsewhere.