The Productivity of Labour in Roman Agriculture

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Some years ago, in a short review of some of the major questions concerning agricultural efficiency in Roman times, I pointed out that we do not possess the materials on which to base an accurate computation. In attempting to make an assessment of agricultural efficiency we should require as a minimum basis a body of statistical information on the following points: first, the numbers of persons engaged; second, average yields per acre of certain crops for comparison with average yields in other producing countries; and third, statistics of output measured in man-hours according to recognized methods of determining the productivity of labour. The type of dficulty mentioned here is not confined to research in ancient agriculture; lack of records, and paucity of precise information, make investigation difficult in almost every department of ancient economic history. But lack of precise information has not deterred historians from making rough analyses and generalizations. The evidence on wheat-yields showed, inter alia, that it is not legitimate to use Columella’s general average return on Italian wheat of four-fold as evidence of a generally low standard of productivity in cereals (De Re Rust., III, iii, 4). So far as crop-yields are concerned, the common postulate of a low level of agricultural technique cannot be upheld.

This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: