IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/ozechr/v50y2010i2p111-128.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Integrating The Historiography Of The Nineteenth‐Century Gold Rushes

Author

Listed:
  • Keir Reeves
  • Lionel Frost
  • Charles Fahey

Abstract

In the century preceding World War I, the world experienced a series of gold rushes. The wealth derived from these was distributed widely because of reduced migration costs and low barriers to entry. While gold mining itself was generally unprofitable for diggers and mine owners, the increase in the world's gold supply stimulated global trade and investment. In this introductory article we integrate the histories of migration, trade, colonisation, and environmental history to identify endogenous factors that increased the world's gold supply and generated sustained economic growth in the regions that were affected by gold rushes.

Suggested Citation

  • Keir Reeves & Lionel Frost & Charles Fahey, 2010. "Integrating The Historiography Of The Nineteenth‐Century Gold Rushes," Australian Economic History Review, Economic History Society of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 50(2), pages 111-128, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ozechr:v:50:y:2010:i:2:p:111-128
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8446.2010.00296.x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8446.2010.00296.x
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/j.1467-8446.2010.00296.x?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Dani Rodrik & Arvind Subramanian & Francesco Trebbi, 2004. "Institutions Rule: The Primacy of Institutions Over Geography and Integration in Economic Development," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 9(2), pages 131-165, June.
    2. Geoffrey Blainey, 1970. "A Theory of Mineral Discovery: Australia in the Nineteenth Century," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 23(2), pages 298-313, August.
    3. Williamson, Jeffrey G., 1984. "Why Was British Growth So Slow During the Industrial Revolution?," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 44(3), pages 687-712, September.
    4. O'Rourke, Kevin H. & Williamson, Jeffrey G., 2004. "Once more: When did globalisation begin?," European Review of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 8(1), pages 109-117, April.
    5. Feinstein,Charles H., 2005. "An Economic History of South Africa," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521616416.
    6. McLean, Ian W., 2007. "Why was Australia so rich?," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 44(4), pages 635-656, October.
    7. Douglass C. North, 2005. "Introduction to Understanding the Process of Economic Change," Introductory Chapters, in: Understanding the Process of Economic Change, Princeton University Press.
    8. La Croix, Sumner J., 1992. "Property rights and institutional change during Australia's gold rush," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 29(2), pages 204-227, April.
    9. Clay, Karen & Jones, Randall, 2008. "Migrating to Riches? Evidence from the California Gold Rush," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 68(4), pages 997-1027, December.
    10. Elaine Sorensen, 1990. "The Crowding Hypothesis and Comparable Worth," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 25(1), pages 55-89.
    11. Maddock, Rodney & McLean, Ian, 1984. "Supply-Side Shocks: The Case of Australian Gold," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 44(4), pages 1047-1067, December.
    12. Feinstein,Charles H., 2005. "An Economic History of South Africa," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521850919.
    13. Robert A. Margo, 2000. "Wages in California during the Gold Rush," NBER Chapters, in: Wages and Labor Markets in the United States, 1820-1860, pages 119-141, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    14. Lembke B., 1918. "√ a. p," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 111(1), pages 709-712, February.
    15. M. J. Morrissey & R. Burt, 1973. "A Theory of Mineral Discovery: a Note," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 26(3), pages 497-505, August.
    16. Gregory Clark, 2007. "Introduction to A Farewell to Alms: A Brief Economic History of the World," Introductory Chapters, in: A Farewell to Alms: A Brief Economic History of the World, Princeton University Press.
    17. Flynn, Dennis O. & Girã Ldez, Arturo, 2004. "Path dependence, time lags and the birth of globalisation: A critique of O'Rourke and Williamson," European Review of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 8(1), pages 81-108, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Warwick Frost, 2013. "The Environmental Impacts of the Victorian Gold Rushes: Miners' Accounts during the First Five Years," Australian Economic History Review, Economic History Society of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 53(1), pages 72-90, March.
    2. James Wickham, 2011. "After the party's over: The Irish employment model and the paradoxes of non-learning," The Institute for International Integration Studies Discussion Paper Series iiisdp367, IIIS.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jeffrey G. Williamson, 2011. "Industrial Catching Up in the Poor Periphery 1870-1975," NBER Working Papers 16809, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Williamson, Jeffrey G., 2011. "Industrial Catching Up in the Poor Periphery 1870-1975," CEPR Discussion Papers 8335, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    3. Maseland, Robbert, 2021. "Contingent determinants," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    4. Atkinson, Anthony B & Alvaredo, Facundo, 2010. "Colonial Rule, Apartheid and Natural Resources: Top Incomes in South Africa, 1903-2007," CEPR Discussion Papers 8155, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    5. Atkinson, Tony & Alvaredo, Facundo, 2016. "Top Incomes in South Africa Over a Century," INET Oxford Working Papers 2016-06, Institute for New Economic Thinking at the Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford.
    6. Czeglédi, Pál, 2009. "A tulajdonjogi biztonság szerepe a technológia elterjedésében [The role of property-law security in the spread of technology]," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(9), pages 790-813.
    7. Ogilvie, Sheilagh & Carus, A.W., 2014. "Institutions and Economic Growth in Historical Perspective," Handbook of Economic Growth, in: Philippe Aghion & Steven Durlauf (ed.), Handbook of Economic Growth, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 8, pages 403-513, Elsevier.
    8. Stephen Broadberry & Douglas A. Irwin, 2007. "Lost Exceptionalism? Comparative Income and Productivity in Australia and the UK, 1861–1948," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 83(262), pages 262-274, September.
    9. Willem H. Boshoff & Johan Fourie, 2015. "When did globalization begin in South Africa?," Working Papers 10/2015, Stellenbosch University, Department of Economics.
    10. Kerekes, Carrie B. & Williamson, Claudia R., 2008. "Unveiling de Soto's mystery: property rights, capital formation, and development," Journal of Institutional Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 4(3), pages 299-325, December.
    11. Stanley L. Engerman & Kenneth L. Sokoloff, 2008. "Once Upon a Time in the Americas: Land and Immigration Policies in the New World," NBER Chapters, in: Understanding Long-Run Economic Growth: Geography, Institutions, and the Knowledge Economy, pages 13-48, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    12. Leandro Prados de la Escosura, 2012. "Output Per Head In Pre-Independence Africa: Quantitative Conjectures," Economic History of Developing Regions, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(2), pages 1-36, December.
    13. Amory Gethin, 2020. "Extreme Inequality and the Structure of Political Cleavages in South Africa, 1994-2019," World Inequality Lab Working Papers halshs-03022282, HAL.
    14. Daron Acemoglu & James A. Robinson, 2015. "The Rise and Decline of General Laws of Capitalism," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 29(1), pages 3-28, Winter.
    15. Lusine Lusinyan & John Thornton, 2007. "The Revenue‐Expenditure Nexus: Historical Evidence For South Africa," South African Journal of Economics, Economic Society of South Africa, vol. 75(3), pages 496-507, September.
    16. Martine Mariotti, 2012. "Labour markets during apartheid in South Africa," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 65(3), pages 1100-1122, August.
    17. McCloskey, Deirdre Nansen, 2009. "Slavery and Imperialism Did Not Enrich Europe," MPRA Paper 20696, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    18. Thomas S. Ulen, 2011. "The Uneasy Case for Competition Law and Regulation as Decisive Factors in Development: Some Lessons for China," Chapters, in: Michael Faure & Xinzhu Zhang (ed.), Competition Policy and Regulation, chapter 2, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    19. Potgieter, Petrus H., 2010. "Water and energy in South Africa – managing scarcity," MPRA Paper 23360, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    20. Jan David Bakker & Christopher Parsons & Ferdinand Rauch, 2020. "Migration and Urbanization in Post-Apartheid South Africa," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 34(2), pages 509-532.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:ozechr:v:50:y:2010:i:2:p:111-128. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/oznzsea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.