R Script for analysis of Romano-British settlement data
Creators: name: Ortman, Scott
Publisher: name: (:unav)
Year: 2024
Subjects: subject: United Kingdom
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/81196/united-kingdom
subject: Roman Britain
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/temporal-keyword/5996/roman-britain
subject: Roman Empire
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/culture-keyword/8635/roman-empire
subject: Bedfordshire
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/136143/bedfordshire
subject: Northumberland
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/136144/northumberland
subject: Dorset
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/136141/dorset
subject: Cornwall
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/136142/cornwall
subject: Cumbria
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/136147/cumbria
subject: Berkshire
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/136148/berkshire
subject: West Sussex
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/136145/west-sussex
subject: Isle of Wight
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/136146/isle-of-wight
subject: BANES
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/136151/banes
subject: Lancashire
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/136152/lancashire
subject: Wiltshire
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/136149/wiltshire
subject: Staffordshire
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/136150/staffordshire
subject: Rutland
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/136155/rutland
subject: Gwynedd
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/136156/gwynedd
subject: Worcestershire
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/136153/worcestershire
subject: Herefordshire
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/136154/herefordshire
subject: Cheshire
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/136159/cheshire
subject: Shropshire
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/136160/shropshire
subject: Gloucestershire
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/136157/gloucestershire
subject: Warwickshire
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/136158/warwickshire
subject: Derbyshire
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/136163/derbyshire
subject: East Sussex
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/136164/east-sussex
subject: Oxfordshire
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/136161/oxfordshire
subject: Suffolk
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/136162/suffolk
subject: Surrey
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/136167/surrey
subject: Norfolk
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/136168/norfolk
subject: Durham
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/136165/durham
subject: Leicestershire
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/136166/leicestershire
subject: Merseyside
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subject: Dyfed
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subject: Buckinghamshire
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/136169/buckinghamshire
subject: Greater Manchester
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/136170/greater-manchester
subject: East Riding
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/136175/east-riding
subject: Hampshire
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/136176/hampshire
subject: Glamorgan-Gwent
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/136173/glamorgan-gwent
subject: Greater London
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/136174/greater-london
subject: North Yorkshire
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/136179/north-yorkshire
subject: Kent
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/136180/kent
subject: Essex
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/136177/essex
subject: Somerset
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/136178/somerset
subject: Lincolnshire
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/136183/lincolnshire
subject: West Midlands
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/136184/west-midlands
subject: City of York
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subject: Northamptonshire
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subject: Cambridgeshire
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/136187/cambridgeshire
subject: Clwyd-Powys
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/136188/clwyd-powys
subject: Hertfordshire
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/136185/hertfordshire
subject: South Yorkshire
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/136186/south-yorkshire
subject: West Yorkshire
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/136191/west-yorkshire
subject: Nottinghamshire
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/136189/nottinghamshire
subject: Devon
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/136190/devon
subject: Domestic Structures
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/256/domestic-structures
subject: Non-Domestic Structures
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/309/non-domestic-structures
subject: Domestic Structure or Architectural Complex
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/251/domestic-structure-or-architectural-complex
subject: Settlements
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/252/settlements
subject: Building Materials
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/8/building-materials
subject: Metal
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/11/metal
subject: Excavation Results
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/54555/excavation-results
subject: Data Recovery / Excavation
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/investigation-type/5/data-recovery-excavation
subject: Methodology, Theory, or Synthesis
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/investigation-type/6/methodology-theory-or-synthesis
subject: Site Evaluation / Testing
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/investigation-type/10/site-evaluation-testing

description: A key question in economic history is the degree to which preindustrial economies could generate sustained increases in per capita productivity. Previous studies suggest that, in many preindustrial contexts, growth was primarily a consequence of agglomeration. Here, we examine evidence for three different socioeconomic rates that are available from the archaeological record for Roman Britain. We find that all three measures show increasing returns to scale with settlement population, with a common elasticity that is consistent with the expectation from settlement scaling theory. We also identify a pattern of increase in baseline rates, similar to that observed in contemporary societies, suggesting that this economy did generate modest levels of per capita productivity growth over a four-century period. Last, we suggest that the observed growth is attributable to changes in transportation costs and to institutions and technologies related to socioeconomic interchange. These findings reinforce the view that differences between ancient and contemporary economies are more a matter of degree than kind.