UNSPECIFIED. (2002) Path dependence in spatial networks: The standardization of railway track gauge. EXPLORATIONS IN ECONOMIC HISTORY, 39 (3). pp. 282-314. ISSN 0014-4983

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Abstract

This article investigates the historical emergence of regional standard railway track gauges in light of a model of the interaction of agents' choices within a spatial network. Contingent events, reinforced by positive feedbacks, determined both particular standards and the geographic extent of standardization in Britain, Continental Europe, North America, and Australia. The model, solved using numerical simulation, shows the allocation process to be path dependent. Monte Carlo experiments demonstrate how the distribution of possible outcomes varies with historically varying systematic factors. Both history and an extension to the model demonstrate the role of externality-internalizing behavior in resolving diversity. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science (USA).

Item Type:	Journal Article
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions H Social Sciences
Journal or Publication Title:	EXPLORATIONS IN ECONOMIC HISTORY
Publisher:	ACADEMIC PRESS INC ELSEVIER SCIENCE
ISSN:	0014-4983
Official Date:	July 2002
Volume:	39
Number:	3
Number of Pages:	33
Page Range:	pp. 282-314
Identification Number:	10.1006/exeh.2002.0786
Publication Status:	Published
URI:	http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/10445

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