What is it about?

This paper examines how the sources of physical work in agriculture have changed worldwide since 1800, from human and animal muscle to machines. Using a new global dataset, it analyzes how these changes affected land productivity and labor productivity. The study shows that after 1950, the rapid expansion of machine work increased agricultural output per hectare, but required much more physical work per unit of land.

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Why is it important?

The results show that higher agricultural productivity has depended on a large increase in energy use per hectare from machines, with diminishing returns over time. This helps explain the growing reliance of modern agriculture on fuel and electricity and suggests that further productivity gains are likely to require even more energy inputs.

Perspectives

This paper is part of the project World Primary-Final-Useful (WPFU) Energy and Exergy Database from 1800 to 2020 The WPFU project develops a long-run global database of primary, final and useful energy and exergy flows across sectors and technologies. The database reconstructs energy conversion chains over the last two centuries in order to analyse technological transitions, efficiency improvements, and the evolution of energy services. By combining historical energy data with societal exergy analysis, the project enables researchers to study the relationships between energy use, efficiency, economic development, and long-term energy transitions. Related papers: Pinto, R., Brockway, P.E., Domingos, T., Sousa, T, 2026. Long run electricity consumption in computing: exponential growth followed by stabilisation due to efficiency gains. iScience, 114876 Tostes, B., Henriques, S., Heun, M. K., T., Brockway, P. B. and Sousa, T, 2025. Global Transport Emissions 1850–2020: Historical Drivers and Lessons for Transport Decarbonization. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 148, 104998. Tostes, B., Heun, M. K., Henriques, S. T., Brockway, P. B. and Sousa, T, 2025. Insights from the evolution of transport technologies, 1800-2020: Energy use, transitions, and efficiency. Applied Energy, 401, Part A, 126561. Tostes, B., Henriques, S. T., Brockway, P. E., Heun, M. K., Domingos, T., Sousa, T, 2024. On the right track? Energy use, carbon emissions, and intensities of world rail transportation, 1840–2020, Applied Energy, 367, 123344. Pinto, R., Henriques, S.T., Brockway, P.E., Heun, M. K., Sousa, T, 2023. The rise and stall of world electricity efficiency: 1900–2017, results and insights for the renewables transition. Energy, 269, 126775. Steenwyk, P., Heun, M. K., Brockway, P.E., Sousa, T, Henriques, S.T, 2022. The Contributions of muscle and machine work to land and labor productivity in world agriculture since 1800. Biophysical Economics and Sustainability, 7: 2.

Assistant Professor Tânia A. Sousa
Instituto Superior Técnico

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This page is a summary of: The Contributions of Muscle and Machine Work to Land and Labor Productivity in World Agriculture Since 1800, Biophysical Economics and Sustainability, March 2022, Springer Science + Business Media,
DOI: 10.1007/s41247-022-00096-z.
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