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A British industrial success: productivity in the Lancashire and New England cotton spinning industries a century ago

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  • Leunig, Tim

Abstract

This paper uses new product-specific, micro-level US data to show that New England had lower levels of productivity in cotton spinning than Lancashire, c. 1900, contradicting results derived by Broadberry from the Censuses of Production. The discrepancy stems from the Censuses’ poor methods of aggregating heterogeneous yarn output. The finding that Britain – the labour-abundant country – has higher labour productivity contradicts the Rothbarth-Habakkuk model. We suggest Britain’s industrial success stems from more intensive competition, manifested through external economies of scale and longer production runs. We finish with some speculative implications for British performance in the first and second industrial revolutions.

Suggested Citation

  • Leunig, Tim, 2003. "A British industrial success: productivity in the Lancashire and New England cotton spinning industries a century ago," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 494, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:494
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    File URL: https://researchonline.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/494/
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    Cited by:

    1. Klein, Alexander & Leunig, Tim, 2015. "Gibrat’s law and the British industrial revolution," Economic History Working Papers 62159, London School of Economics and Political Science, Department of Economic History.
    2. Klein, Alexander & Leunig, Tim, 2013. "Gibrat’s Law and the British Industrial Revolution," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 146, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).
    3. Leslie Hannah & Robert Bennett, 2022. "Large‐scale Victorian manufacturers: Reconstructing the lost 1881 UK employer census," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 75(3), pages 830-856, August.
    4. Ciliberto, Federico, 2010. "Were British cotton entrepreneurs technologically backward? Firm-level evidence on the adoption of ring spinning," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 47(4), pages 487-504, October.
    5. Broadberry, Stephen & Burhop, Carsten, 2008. "Resolving the Anglo-German Industrial Productivity Puzzle, 1895–1935: A Response to Professor Ritschl," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 68(3), pages 930-934, September.
    6. Crafts, Nicholas & Wolf, Nikolaus, 2014. "The Location of the UK Cotton Textiles Industry in 1838: A Quantitative Analysis," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 74(4), pages 1103-1139, December.
    7. Crafts, Nicholas, 2012. "British relative economic decline revisited: The role of competition," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 49(1), pages 17-29.
    8. Joel Mokyr & Hans-Joachim Voth, 2012. "Understanding Growth in Europe, 1700–1870: Theory and Evidence," Journal of Economic Sociology, National Research University Higher School of Economics, vol. 13(5), pages 57-102.
    9. Jong, H. de & Woltjer, P., 2009. "A Comparison of Real Output and Productivity for British and American Manufacturing in 1935," GGDC Research Memorandum GD-108, Groningen Growth and Development Centre, University of Groningen.
    10. Tim Rooth, 2006. "Revisiting the mature economy: Britain, 1860-1939," Business History, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(1), pages 119-126.
    11. Crafts, Nicholas, 2011. "British Relative Economic Decline Revisited," CEPR Discussion Papers 8384, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    12. Klein, Alexander & Leunig, Tim, 2013. "Gibrat's Law and the British industrial revolution," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 58363, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    13. Klein, Alexander & Leunig, Tim, 2013. "Gibrat's Law and the British industrial revolution," Economic History Working Papers 58363, London School of Economics and Political Science, Department of Economic History.
    14. Robert C. Allen, 2021. "The Interplay among Wages, Technology, and Globalization: The Labour Market and Inequality, 1620-2020," Working Papers 20210065, New York University Abu Dhabi, Department of Social Science, revised Jun 2021.
    15. repec:dgr:rugggd:gd-108 is not listed on IDEAS
    16. Ugo M. Gragnolati & Alessandro Nuvolari, 2023. "Innovation, localized externalities, and the British Industrial Revolution, 1700-1850," LEM Papers Series 2023/26, Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM), Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy.
    17. Peter Maw & Peter Solar & Aidan Kane & John S. Lyons, 2022. "After the great inventions: technological change in UK cotton spinning, 1780–1835," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 75(1), pages 22-55, February.
    18. Theo Balderston, 2010. "The economics of abundance: coal and cotton in Lancashire and the world," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 63(3), pages 569-590, August.
    19. Leslie Hannah, 2007. "Logistics, Market Size and Giant Plants in the Early 20th Century: A Global View," CIRJE F-Series CIRJE-F-486, CIRJE, Faculty of Economics, University of Tokyo.
    20. Klein, Alexander & Leunig, Tim, 2015. "Gibrat’s law and the British industrial revolution," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 62159, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.

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    JEL classification:

    • N0 - Economic History - - General
    • R14 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Land Use Patterns
    • J01 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - Labor Economics: General

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