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Cheap Labor and Southern Textiles, 1880–1930

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  • Gavin Wright

Abstract

An interpretation of the Southern capture of the American cotton textile market is presented, emphasizing capital accumulation and a process of "maturation" of the labor force. The market was divided along lines of product quality, and the precise rate of convergence was governed by the pace of demand. Simulations of the system uncover the surprising fact that the Great Textile Depression, which began in the 1920s, is not attributable to trends in demand, imports, or a chronic tendency to overproduce, but to the increase in real wages that occurred in the South as well as in the North. Possible interpretations of this development are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Gavin Wright, 1981. "Cheap Labor and Southern Textiles, 1880–1930," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 96(4), pages 605-629.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:qjecon:v:96:y:1981:i:4:p:605-629.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.2307/1880743
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    Cited by:

    1. Claudia Goldin & Kenneth Sokoloff, 1984. "The Relative Productivity Hypothesis of Industrialization: The American Case, 1820 to 1850," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 99(3), pages 461-487.
    2. Charles W. Calomiris & Christopher Hanes, 1994. "Historical Macroeconomics and American Macroeconomic History," NBER Working Papers 4935, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Kiminori Matsuyama, 1991. "Increasing Returns, Industrialization, and Indeterminacy of Equilibrium," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 106(2), pages 617-650.
    4. Nicolas Ziebarth, 2013. "Are China and India Backwards? Evidence from the 19th Century U.S. Census of Manufactures," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 16(1), pages 86-99, January.
    5. Joseph P. Kaboski & Trevon D. Logan, 2011. "Factor Endowments and the Returns to Skill: New Evidence from the American Past," Journal of Human Capital, University of Chicago Press, vol. 5(2), pages 111-152.
    6. Stephen Haber, 1998. "Financial Market Regulation, Imperfect Capital Markets, and Industrial Concentration: Mexico in Comparative Perspective, 1830-1930," Economía Mexicana NUEVA ÉPOCA, CIDE, División de Economía, vol. 0(1), pages 5-46, January-J.

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