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Railways, Growth, and Industrialization in a Developing German Economy, 1829–1910

Author

Listed:
  • Braun, Sebastian Till
  • Franke, Richard

Abstract

This paper studies the average and heterogeneous effects of railway access on parish-level population, income, and industrialization in Württemberg during the Industrial Revolution. We show that the growth-enhancing effect of the railway was much greater in parishes that were larger and more industrial at the outset. However, such early industrial parishes were rare in the relatively poor German state. This might explain why we find small average growth effects, which only increase at the end of the nineteenth century. Heterogeneity in the impact of the railway thus increased economic disparities within Württemberg and contributed to the state’s relatively sluggish growth.

Suggested Citation

  • Braun, Sebastian Till & Franke, Richard, 2022. "Railways, Growth, and Industrialization in a Developing German Economy, 1829–1910," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 82(4), pages 1183-1221, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:jechis:v:82:y:2022:i:4:p:1183-1221_8
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    Cited by:

    1. Paul Berbée & Sebastian Till Braun & Richard Franke, 2025. "Reversing fortunes of German regions, 1926–2019: Boon and bane of early industrialization?," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 30(2), pages 307-337, June.
    2. Erik Hornung, 2021. "Industrialisierung im Deutschen Reich: Welche Rolle spielte die öffentliche Infrastruktur?," Wirtschaftsdienst, Springer;ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 101(4), pages 258-262, April.
    3. Stephan Maurer & Ferdinand Rauch, 2023. "Economic geography aspects of the Panama Canal," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 75(1), pages 142-162.
    4. Jaiswal, Sreeja & Bensch, Gunther & Navalkar, Aniket & Jayaraman, T., 2022. "The socio-economic and environmental impact of a large infrastructure project: The case of the Konkan Railway in India," Ruhr Economic Papers 936, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    5. Piotr Koryś & Marcin Wroński, 2025. "The Impact of Railway on the Regional Economic Development and Social Mobility in the Congress Kingdom of Poland," Working Papers 2025-07, Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warsaw.
    6. Tobias Korn & Jean Lacroix, 2025. "Local Reallocation: Lessons from Bankruptcies During Britain’s Market Integration," CESifo Working Paper Series 11963, CESifo.
    7. Magnus Neubert & Stefan Nikolić, 2025. "Why railways fail: Colonial railways and economic development in Habsburg Bosnia-Herzegovina," Working Papers 0280, European Historical Economics Society (EHES).
    8. Tobias Korn & Jean Lacroix, 2025. "Local Reallocation: Lessons from Bankruptcies during Britain’s Market Integration," Working Papers 408, Leibniz Institut für Ost- und Südosteuropaforschung (Leibniz Institute for East and Southeast European Studies).
    9. Richard Franke, 2022. "Poverty, pollution, and mortality: The 1918 influenza pandemic in a developing German economy," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 75(4), pages 1026-1053, November.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • N73 - Economic History - - Economic History: Transport, International and Domestic Trade, Energy, and Other Services - - - Europe: Pre-1913
    • N93 - Economic History - - Regional and Urban History - - - Europe: Pre-1913
    • O14 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Industrialization; Manufacturing and Service Industries; Choice of Technology
    • R12 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Size and Spatial Distributions of Regional Economic Activity; Interregional Trade (economic geography)
    • R40 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - General

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