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Technology, Organisation and Productivity Performance in Services: Lessons from Britain and the United States, 1870-1990

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Author Info
Broadberry, Stephen (University of Warwick)
Sayantan Ghosal

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Abstract

We document comparative productivity performance since 1870, showing the importance of services for US overtaking of Britain. The transition in market services from customised, low-volume, high-margin business organised on a network basis to standardised, high-volume, low-margin business with hierarchical management, is identified as a key factor. A model of the interaction between technology, organisation and economic performance is then provided, focusing on the transition from networks to hierarchies. We show that different technologies and organisational forms can co-exist efficiently and that technological change can cause difficulties of adjustment if it is not suited to the social capabilities of the society.

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File URL: http://repec.org/res2003/Broadberry.pdf
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Publisher Info
Paper provided by Royal Economic Society in its series Royal Economic Society Annual Conference 2003 with number 30.

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Date of creation: 04 Jun 2003
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Handle: RePEc:ecj:ac2003:30

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Web page: http://www.res.org.uk/society/annualconf.asp
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Related research
Keywords: productivity; services; technology; organisation; hierarchies; netwworks;

Find related papers by JEL classification:
N10 - Economic History - - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Growth and Fluctuations - - - General, International, or Comparative
O40 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - General
C79 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory - - - Other

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