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Spanning the Globe: The Rise of Global Communications Systems and the First Globalisation

Author

Listed:
  • Richard Pomfret
  • Markus Lampe
  • Florian Ploeckl

Abstract

type="main"> After postulating the relevance of information for trade costs we outline the rise of international communication networks (mail, telegraph, telephone) during the first globalisation of the long nineteenth century. In this period, global communications systems for the first time in history provided universal access to affordable and reliable means of communication. Using a new set of internationally comparable data on global postal flows, we analyse basic determinants of international information exchange and conclude by outlining a research agenda that links these to international trade patterns and knowledge transfer between countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Richard Pomfret & Markus Lampe & Florian Ploeckl, 2014. "Spanning the Globe: The Rise of Global Communications Systems and the First Globalisation," Australian Economic History Review, Economic History Society of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 54(3), pages 242-261, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ozechr:v:54:y:2014:i:3:p:242-261
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    Cited by:

    1. Ploeckl, Florian, 2021. "The next town over: On the clustering of towns and settlements before modern economic growth," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    2. Ralph Hippe & Damien Demailly & Claude Diebolt, 2022. "The Digital Transition for a Sustainable Mobility Regime? A Long-Run Perspective," Working Papers of BETA 2022-19, Bureau d'Economie Théorique et Appliquée, UDS, Strasbourg.
    3. Florian Ploeckl, 2015. "It's all in the Mail: The Economic Geography of the German Empire," School of Economics and Public Policy Working Papers 2015-12, University of Adelaide, School of Economics and Public Policy.

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