ABSTRACT
The population explosion of the later eighteenth century meant that by the turn of the century, the population of Britain was growing at over 15 per cent per decade. The population as a whole also became more aware of opportunities abroad, and emigration increased to provide the third pillar for the economic development of newly-settled countries. Emigration, the most striking of all types of nineteenth-century migration, was no different in kind from other types of migration. The quantity of emigration suggests that throughout the century there was no shortage of labour, and so labour supply is not a problematical subject, although changes in participation rates and the quality of the labour force present features of interest. As industrial capital increased, employers needed to utilise it to the maximum, and this encouraged them to have a stable, fully-employed workforce. In spite of the potential importance of education to economic growth, physical capital is also needed to make human capital fully effective.
