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Market potential in British regions, 1871-1931

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  • Crafts, Nicholas

Abstract

This paper constructs measures of market potential for British regions based on the spatial distribution of GDP and its accessibility. The results show that the North, Scotland and Wales were much less 'peripheral' before World War I than in 1985. The main reason for the deterioration in their position was changing transport costs. The marginalization of coastal shipping and the rise of road haulage had markedly accentuated the 'peripherality' of outer Britain by 1931. The sensitivity of market potential to changes in relative transport costs has gone unnoticed but it underlines the danger of conflating 'peripherality' with competitiveness.

Suggested Citation

  • Crafts, Nicholas, 2004. "Market potential in British regions, 1871-1931," Economic History Working Papers 22556, London School of Economics and Political Science, Department of Economic History.
  • Handle: RePEc:ehl:wpaper:22556
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    File URL: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/22556/
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Nicholas Crafts, 2005. "Regional Gdp In Britain, 1871–1911: Some Estimates," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 52(1), pages 54-64, February.
    2. Antoni Estevadeordal & Brian Frantz & Alan M. Taylor, 2003. "The Rise and Fall of World Trade, 1870–1939," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 118(2), pages 359-407.
    3. Richard Anthony, 1993. "The Scottish agricultural labour market, 1900-1939: a case of institutional intervention," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 46(3), pages 558-574, August.
    4. Nicholas Crafts & Abay Mulatu, 2005. "What explains the location of industry in Britain, 1871–1931?," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 5(4), pages 499-518, August.
    5. Frank Geary & Tom Stark, 2002. "Examining Ireland"s Post--famine Economic Growth Performance," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 112(482), pages 919-935, October.
    6. O Grada, Cormac, 1995. "Ireland: A New Economic History 1780-1939," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198205982, Decembrie.
    7. K.H. Midelfart & H.G. Overman & S.J. Redding & A.J. Venables, 2000. "The location of European industry," European Economy - Economic Papers 2008 - 2015 142, Directorate General Economic and Financial Affairs (DG ECFIN), European Commission.
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    Cited by:

    1. Mulatu, Abay & Crafts, Nicholas, 2005. "Efficiency among private railway companies in a weakly regulated system: the case of Britain's railways in 1893-1912," Economic History Working Papers 22552, London School of Economics and Political Science, Department of Economic History.
    2. Bartels, Charlotte & Jäger, Simon & Obergruber, Natalie, 2020. "Long-Term Effects of Equal Sharing: Evidence from Inheritance Rules for Land," IZA Discussion Papers 13665, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Huning, Thilo R. & Wahl, Fabian, 2023. "You reap what you know: Appropriability and the origin of European states," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    4. Rafael González-Val & Daniel A. Tirado-Fabregat & Elisabet Viladecans-Marsal, 2017. "Market potential and city growth: Spain 1860–1960," Cliometrica, Springer;Cliometric Society (Association Francaise de Cliométrie), vol. 11(1), pages 31-61, January.
    5. Crafts, Nicholas & Mulatu, Abay, 2006. "How Did the Location of Industry Respond to Falling Transport Costs in Britain Before World War I?," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 66(3), pages 575-607, September.
    6. Anna Missiaia, 2016. "Where do we go from here? Market access and regional development in Italy (1871–1911)," European Review of Economic History, European Historical Economics Society, vol. 20(2), pages 215-241.
    7. Martinez-Galarraga, Julio, 2012. "The determinants of industrial location in Spain, 1856–1929," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 49(2), pages 255-275.
    8. Huning, Thilo R. & Wahl, Fabian, 2021. "The origins of agricultural inheritance traditions," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(3), pages 660-674.
    9. Fernihough, Alan, 2024. "Economic Geography and the Irish Border: A Market Access Approach," QBS Working Paper Series 2024/02, Queen's University Belfast, Queen's Business School.
    10. Rafael González-Val & Daniel A. Tirado-Fabregat & Elisabet Viladecans-Marsal, 2017. "Market potential and city growth: Spain 1860–1960," Cliometrica, Springer;Cliometric Society (Association Francaise de Cliométrie), vol. 11(1), pages 31-61, January.
    11. Martin Eriksson, 2011. "The Challenges of Including Political Economy Research in Regional Economic History," ERSA conference papers ersa10p1642, European Regional Science Association.
    12. Julio Martinez-Galarraga & Elisenda Paluzie & Jordi Pons & Javier Silvestre & Daniel A. Tirado, 2021. "New economic geography and economic history: a survey of recent contributions through the lens of the Spanish industrialization process," Cliometrica, Springer;Cliometric Society (Association Francaise de Cliométrie), vol. 15(3), pages 719-751, September.
    13. Rafael González-Val & Pau Insa-Sánchez & Julio Martinez-Galarraga & Daniel A. Tirado-Fabregat, 2022. "Market access, the skill premium and human capital in Spain (1860-1930)," Working Papers 0229, European Historical Economics Society (EHES).
    14. Sebastian Brandt & Wolfgang Maennig, 2012. "The impact of rail access on condominium prices in Hamburg," Transportation, Springer, vol. 39(5), pages 997-1017, September.
    15. Nicolai Wendland, 2015. "All access: a micro-level case study on the secondary center of Berlin (1871–1936)," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 54(2), pages 375-399, March.
    16. Theodore Tsekeris & Klimis Vogiatzoglou, 2014. "Public infrastructure investments and regional specialization: empirical evidence from Greece," Regional Science Policy & Practice, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 6(3), pages 265-289, August.
    17. Gabriel M. Ahlfeldt & Wolfgang Maennig, 2010. "Substitutability and Complementarity of Urban Amenities: External Effects of Built Heritage in Berlin," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 38(2), pages 285-323, June.
    18. Jesús López-Rodríguez & Malgorzata Runiewicz-Wardyn, 2014. "Changing Market Potentials, Regional Growth and Income Disparities in Poland," Prague Economic Papers, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2014(1), pages 63-83.
    19. Stefan Nikolić, 2018. "Determinants of industrial location: Kingdom of Yugoslavia in the interwar period," European Review of Economic History, European Historical Economics Society, vol. 22(1), pages 101-133.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • N0 - Economic History - - General
    • L91 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Transportation and Utilities - - - Transportation: General
    • L96 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Transportation and Utilities - - - Telecommunications
    • R14 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Land Use Patterns
    • J01 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - Labor Economics: General
    • B1 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought through 1925
    • O52 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Europe

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