Evening Must-Read: Réka Juhász: Temporary Protection and Technology Adoption: Evidence from the Napoleonic Blockade

…regions in the French Empire which became better-protected from trade with the British for exogenous reasons during the Napoleonic Wars… increased capacity in… mechanised cotton spinning to a larger extent than regions which remained more exposed to trade. Temporary protection had long term effects…. Firms located in regions with higher post-war spinning capacity were more productive 30 years later…. After… peace, exports of cotton goods from France increased substantially, consistent with evolving comparative advantage in cottons…. As late as 1850, France and Belgium… had larger cotton spinning industries than other Continental European countries… not protected from British trade during the wars…