This paper makes use of American patent data to shed light on the geographical history of invention, and introduces a methodology (the Wellesley Technology Concordance) which creates matrices describing the distribution of patents by 43 industries of manufacture and 50 sectors of use, along with...

US Class I railroads have been operating profitably and carrying substantial market share of traffic, in spite of the inherent disadvantages of rail transport as well as highly developed road, water and air transport infrastructure. This paper examines the key initiatives that railroads have...

This paper outlines the evolution, structure and operations of US railroads. It traces the evolution of the railroad network and the regulation framework. The current industry structure is also examined along with organization and operational characteristics. The strategies underlying the...

German. industrial expansion in the period 1880¿1913 was significantly more rapid than that of the United Kingdom, and substantially less volatile than that of the United States. A partial explanation for the relatively stable growth path of the German economy during these years may be found in...

Using quantitative data on sectoral productivity and labor force shares, this paper assesses distribution's contribution to growth in aggregate output per worker between 1869 and 1992, speculates about performance during the prior two decades, and explores the implications and determinants of...

The introduction and diffusion of what Alfred Chandler called modern business enterprise had a profound capital-saving impact on the American economy. Given the availability of the railroad and telegraph, purchasing more managerial labor services paid off principally via increased speed of...

The contribution to growth of telegraphic- as opposed to rail-speed transmission of financial asset and commodity price data remains unclear. With more certainty we can identify savings in the holdings of real capital-savings made possible by the use of the telegraph at the firm level to...

A consideration of TFP growth in the United States during the golden age (1948-73) raises two related questions: on the one hand why was it so strong and on the other hand, why were TFP growth rates lower than they were during the Depression years (1929-41)? A continuing downward trend in TFP...

The early decades of railroading in the United States, in the early 19th century, featured relatively small, disconnected rail systems operated by different railroad firms. A major obstacle to interconnecting these systems was the multiplicity of track gauges and other standards used by the...