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Railroads and the Rise of the Factory: Evidence for the United States, 1850-70

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Author Info
Jeremy Atack
Michael R. Haines
Robert A. Margo

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Abstract

Over the course of the nineteenth century manufacturing in the United States shifted from artisan shop to factory production. At the same time United States experienced a "transportation revolution", a key component of which was the building of extensive railroad network. Using a newly created data set of manufacturing establishments linked to county level data on rail access from 1850-70, we ask whether the coming of the railroad increased establishment size in manufacturing. Difference-in-difference and instrument variable estimates suggest that the railroad had a positive effect on factory status. In other words, Adam Smith was right -- the division of labor in nineteenth century American manufacturing was limited by the extent of the market.

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Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number 14410.

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Date of creation: Oct 2008
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Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:14410

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
N61 - Economic History - - Manufacturing and Construction - - - U.S.; Canada: Pre-1913
N71 - Economic History - - Economic History: Transport, International and Domestic Trade, Energy, and Other Services - - - U.S.; Canada: Pre-1913

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Rousseau, Peter L. & Sylla, Richard, 2005. "Emerging financial markets and early US growth," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 42(1), pages 1-26, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  2. Hilt, Eric, 2008. "When did Ownership Separate from Control? Corporate Governance in the Early Nineteenth Century," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 68(03), pages 645-685, September. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  3. Broadberry, Stephen N. & Irwin, Douglas A., 2006. "Labor productivity in the United States and the United Kingdom during the nineteenth century," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 43(2), pages 257-279, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Atack, Jeremy & Bateman, Fred & Margo, Robert A., 2008. "Steam power, establishment size, and labor productivity growth in nineteenth century American manufacturing," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 45(2), pages 185-198, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  5. Bresnahan, Timothy F & Reiss, Peter C, 1991. "Entry and Competition in Concentrated Markets," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 99(5), pages 977-1009, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  6. Michael R. Haines & Robert A. Margo, 2006. "Railroads and Local Economic Development: The United States in the 1850s," NBER Working Papers 12381, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Goldin, Claudia & Sokoloff, Kenneth, 1982. "Women, Children, and Industrialization in the Early Republic: Evidence from the Manufacturing Censuses," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 42(04), pages 741-774, December. [Downloadable!]
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  1. Guajardo, Guillermo, 2009. "Between the Workshop and the State: Training Human Capital in Railroad Companies in Mexico and Chile, 1850-1930," MPRA Paper 16038, University Library of Munich, Germany. [Downloadable!]
  2. Alex William Trew, 2008. " Infrastructure Finance and Industrial Takeoff in the United Kingdom," CDMA Working Paper Series 0809, Centre for Dynamic Macroeconomic Analysis. [Downloadable!]
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This page was last updated on 2009-11-21.

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