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Gibrat's law and the British industrial revolution
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Klein, Alexander and Leunig, Tim (2013) Gibrat's law and the British industrial revolution. Working Paper. Coventry, UK: Department of Economics, University of Warwick. CAGE Online Working Paper Series, Volume 2013 (Number 146).
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Text (Working paper)
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Official URL: http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/economics/resear...
Abstract
This paper examines Gibrat’s law in England and Wales between 1801 and 1911 using a
unique data set covering the entire settlement size distribution. We find that Gibrat’s law
broadly holds even in the face of population doubling every fifty years, an industrial and
transport revolution, and the absence of zoning laws to constrain growth. The result is
strongest for the later period, and in counties most affected by the industrial revolution. The
exception were villages in areas bypassed by the industrial revolution. We argue that
agglomeration externalities balanced urban disamenities such as commuting costs and poor
living conditions to ensure steady growth of many places, rather than exceptional growth of
few.
| Item Type: | Working or Discussion Paper (Working Paper) |
|---|---|
| Subjects: | D History General and Old World > DA Great Britain H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions |
| Divisions: | Faculty of Social Sciences > Economics |
| Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Gibrat, Robert, 1904- -- Criticism and interpretation, Industrial revolution -- Great Britain -- History -- 19th century , Great Britain -- Economic conditions -- 19th century, Cities and towns -- Great Britain -- Growth -- History -- 19th century |
| Series Name: | CAGE Online Working Paper Series |
| Publisher: | Department of Economics, University of Warwick |
| Place of Publication: | Coventry, UK |
| Official Date: | 2013 |
| Volume: | Volume 2013 |
| Number: | Number 146 |
| Number of Pages: | 33 |
| Status: | Not Peer Reviewed |
| Publication Status: | Published |
| Access rights to Published version: | Open Access (Creative Commons) |
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