We use data from the manuscript censuses of manufacturing for 1850, 1860, 1870, and 1880 to study the dispersion of average monthly wages across establishments. We find a marked increased in wage inequality over the period, an increase that cannot be explained by biases in the data or changes in...

The great merger movement at the turn of the century significantly increased the concentration of many American manufacturing industries. It occurred just as many of them were beginning to electrify their production processes. The conjunction of these two events suggests a simple test of...

The steam engine is widely regarded as the icon of the Industrial Revolution and a prime example of a 'General Purpose Technology,' and yet its contribution to growth is far from transparent. This paper examines the role that a particular innovative design in steam power, the Corliss engine,...

This paper offers a Schumpeterian view of the Great Merger Movement in the American manufacturing industries, which occurred from 1895 to 1904. From this perspective, the Great Merger Movement was a response to competitive pressures associated with a number of significant technological...

Skyscrapers in Manhattan need to be anchored to bedrock to prevent (possibly uneven) settling. This can potentially increase construction costs if the bedrock lies deep below the surface. The conventional wisdom holds that Manhattan developed two business centers--downtown and midtown--because...

Using unpublished data contained in samples from the manuscripts of the 1870 and 1880 censuses of manufactures¾the earliest comprehensive estimates available¾ this study examines the extent and correlates of part-year manufacturing during the late 19th century. While the typical manufacturing...

We use establishment level data from the 1850-80 censuses of manufacturing to study the correlates of the use of steam power and the impact of steam power on labor productivity growth in nineteenth century American manufacturing. A key result is that establishment size mattered: large...

Primary Sector Shocks and Early American Industrialization Recent advances in the measurement of US manufacturing activity over the long nineteenth century have opened up new possibilities for exploring the dynamics of American economic growth. Building on the pioneering work of J. Davis (2003)...

Using unpublished data contained in samples from the manuscripts of the 1870 and 1880 censuses of manufactures, we examine the extent and correlates of part-year manufacturing during the late nineteenth century. These data are the earliest comprehensive estimates available and, while the typical...

The Civil War resulted in a substantial divergence in the regional structure of factor prices. In particular, wages fell in the South relative to the non-South, but interest rates and other measures of the costs of capital increased. Using archival data for manufacturing establishments, we show...