Showing 1 - 4 of 4
How much of the spatial distribution of economic activity today is determined by history rather than by geographic fundamentals? And if history matters for the distribution, does it also affect overall efficiency? This paper develops a tractable theoretical and empirical framework that aims to...
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10012482278
Do poor economies grow faster than rich ones? This important economic question (which we call [beta]-convergence) is … of convergence in both countries: poor prefectures and states grow faster. We also find that there is intraregional as … well as interregional convergence. We analyze the cross sectional standard deviation across prefectures and states. We find …
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10012474942
We examine the golden age of U.S. innovation by undertaking a major data collection exercise linking historical U.S. patents to state and county-level aggregates and matching inventors to Federal Censuses between 1880 and 1940. We identify a causal relationship between patented inventions and...
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10012455633
This paper examines the historical impact of railroads on the American economy. Expansion of the railroad network may have affected all counties directly or indirectly - an econometric challenge that arises in many empirical settings. However, the total impact on each county is captured by...
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10012459450