Agriculture in American Economic History

Abstract

This chapter examines the crucial roles of biological learning and mechanization in facilitating the long sweep of American agricultural expansion and productivity growth. It also explores the major debates concerning the relationship between agricultural growth and overall economic development, the sources and impacts of the twentieth-century decline of the agricultural sector, the role of government policies, and the directions of current and promising future research. The chapter highlights the roles of biological innovation and mechanization in driving territorial expansion and productivity growth. It also investigates the forces behind the structural change affecting the role of agriculture in the US economy.