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World War II and the Industrialization of the American South

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  • Taylor Jaworski

Abstract

When private incentives are insufficient, a big push by government may lead to industrialization. This paper uses mobilization for World War II to test the big push hypothesis in the context of postwar industrialization in the American South. Specifically, I investigate the role of capital deepening at the county level using newly assembled data on the location and value of wartime investment. Despite a boom in manufacturing activity during the war, the evidence is not consistent with differential growth in counties that received more investment. This does not rule out positive effects of mobilization on firms or sectors, but a decisive role for wartime capital deepening in the Souths postwar industrial development should be viewed more skeptically.

Suggested Citation

  • Taylor Jaworski, 2017. "World War II and the Industrialization of the American South," NBER Working Papers 23477, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:23477
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    Cited by:

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    2. Jung, Yeonha, 2020. "The long reach of cotton in the US South: Tenant farming, mechanization, and low-skill manufacturing," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    3. Anna Aizer & Ryan Boone & Adriana Lleras-Muney & Jonathan Vogel, 2020. "Discrimination and Racial Disparities in Labor Market Outcomes: Evidence from WWII," NBER Working Papers 27689, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Ahmed S. Rahman, 2020. "Officer retention and military spending: the rise of the military‐industrial complex during the Second World War," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 73(4), pages 1074-1096, November.
    5. Ethan Ilzetzki, 2023. "Learning by necessity: Government demand, capacity constraints, and productivity growth," Discussion Papers 2305, Centre for Macroeconomics (CFM).
    6. Jung, Yeonha, 2018. "The Legacy of King Cotton: Agricultural Patterns and the Quality of Structural Change," SocArXiv trjfz, Center for Open Science.
    7. John Fitzgerald & Se n Kenny & Alexandra Lopez Cermeno, 2021. "Household Behaviour in Ireland, Sweden, the US and the UK Under Rationing," Trinity Economics Papers tep1221, Trinity College Dublin, Department of Economics.
    8. Bose, Gautam & Jain, Tarun & Walker, Sarah, 2022. "Women’s labor force participation and household technology adoption," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).
    9. Andrew Bossie, 2020. "Monetary and fiscal interactions in the USA during the 1940s," Cliometrica, Springer;Cliometric Society (Association Francaise de Cliométrie), vol. 14(1), pages 61-103, January.
    10. Karl Skogstad & Robert J. Petrunia, 2019. "The impact of labour policies on Canadian gold mines in World War II," Cliometrica, Springer;Cliometric Society (Association Francaise de Cliométrie), vol. 13(2), pages 163-200, May.

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    JEL classification:

    • N12 - Economic History - - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Industrial Structure; Growth; Fluctuations - - - U.S.; Canada: 1913-

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