We find little support for the Schumpeterian hypothesis of a positive relationship between market power and innovation in 1950’s Britain even though many economists and policymakers accepted it at the time. Pricefixing agreements were very widespread prior to the 1956 Restrictive Practices Act...

n analyses of British productivity performance in the 1930s, we have argued that the policy framework adopted in response to macroeconomic shocks was understandable and quite effective in ameliorating short-term adjustment problems but harmful in terms of its long-run supply side implications...

This paper uses a stochastic cost frontier model to investigate the efficiency of Britain’s private railways during the period 1893-1912. We find that there was substantial inefficiency in the industry with no sign of reduction over time. Our main conclusion is that principal agent problems...

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...

The paper sets out estimates for various aspects of well-being during British industrialisation. Judgements about changes in living standards are shown to be sensitive to weighting procedures. It is argued that recent participants in the famous standards of living controversy have assigned undue...