Les trois révolutions agricoles du monde développé : rendements et productivité de 1800 à 1985

The Developed World's Three Agricultural Revolutions: Yields and Productivity from 1800 to 1985. This study, based on the elaboration of new data series, analyses the historical evolution of different agricultural yields and (labor) productivity. It highlights the specific characteristics of each of the three agricultural revolutions. The first (1700-1850/70), despite its moderate character, constituted a fundamental break with the past because in the space of 6 to 8 decades, productivity increased as much as in the preceding 8 to 9 millennia. The second agricultural revolution (1850/70-1936/50), brought about by mechanization and the development of artificial fertilizers, witnessed the beginning of the decline in the absolute number of agricultural workers, and an acceleration in yield growth, but little change in the rhythm of productivity growth. The third agricultural revolution (1936/50-1985) constituted a fundamentally new break, yields and productivity growing 4 to 5 times f ster than before.Bairoch Paul. Les trois révolutions agricoles du monde développé : rendements et productivité de 1800 à 1985. In: Annales. Économies, Sociétés, Civilisations. 44ᵉ année, N. 2, 1989. pp. 317-353