Spatial patterns of steam technology diffusion in nineteenth-century France

This paper introduces a unique regional panel data set reflecting steam power use in the French départements from 1841 to 1911 and investigates, on this basis, the time and spatial patterns of steam technology diffusion in nineteenth-century France. While in the existing literature most quantitative assessments of steam power use in French industries rely on statistical information coming from the industrial censuses conducted in 1839–1847, 1860–1865 and 1896 [see Chanut et al. (2000)], our data provide an exhaustive overview of the spread of steam power in France based on the French mining engineers’s reports that followed the early introduction in France of regulations on the use of steam engines. By controlling for a number of geographical, demographical and structural factors and initial conditions, we provide statistical evidence that intensity in the use of steam engine within close proximity was a strong and robust predictor of steam engine adoption among French industries. Our results therefore confirm that economic development in the prime time of industrialization benefited from spill-overs in neighboring regions, while this is not found over longer distances.