The political economy of skills, occupational entitlements, and social mobility: evidence from industrializing Coventry, 1790-1850

Abstract

This paper examines the interaction between political economy and social mobility during early industrialization in England. We analyze changes in male social mobility patterns in industrializing Coventry (c.1790–1850) following a transformation of key institutions affecting the labor market. Social mobility was framed by the interaction between trade policy, occupational skill formation, and municipal government. Using a longitudinal dataset and regression-discontinuity analysis, we find that liberal reforms to trade policy and municipal government during the late-1820s and early-1830s eroded the value of industry-specific social capital, while increasing the contribution of general human capital to social mobility.