The Library

How did the location of industry respond to falling transport costs in Britain before World War I?

Tools

Crafts, Nicholas and Mulatu, Abay. (2006) How did the location of industry respond to falling transport costs in Britain before World War I? Journal of Economic History, Vol.66 (No.3). pp. 575-607. ISSN 0022-0507

Preview

PDF
WRAP_Crafts_Location_Industry-Transport.pdf - Requires a PDF viewer such as GSview, Xpdf or Adobe Acrobat Reader
Download (185Kb)

Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S002205070600026X

Abstract

This article explores the location of industry in pre–World War I Britain using a model that takes account both of factor endowment and also of New Economic Geography influences. Broadly speaking, the pattern of industrial location in this period was quite persistent and regional specialization changed little. The econometric results show that factor endowments had much stronger effects than proximity to markets, although the latter was an attraction for industries with large plant size. Overall, falling transport costs had relatively little effect on industrial location at a time when proximity to natural resources, notably coal, mattered most.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions H Social Sciences > HE Transportation and Communications
Divisions:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Economics
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Industrial location -- Great Britain, Transportation -- Great Britain -- History, Coal -- Transportation -- Great Britain, Industries -- Great Britain -- History -- 19th century, Industries -- Great Britain -- History -- 20th century, Great Britain -- Economic conditions -- 19th century, Great Britain -- Economic conditions -- 20th century
Journal or Publication Title:	Journal of Economic History
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
ISSN:	0022-0507
Date:	September 2006
Volume:	Vol.66
Number:	No.3
Page Range:	pp. 575-607
Identification Number:	10.1017/S002205070600026X
Status:	Peer Reviewed
Access rights to Published version:	Open Access
Funder:	Economic and Social Research Council (Great Britain) (ESRC)
Grant number:	R000239536 (ESRC)
References:	001 Armstrong, (1987): “The Role of Coastal Shipping in UK Transport: An Estimate of Comparative Traffic Movements in 1910.” Journal of Transport History 8, no. 2 164– 78. 002 CainPeter J. (1980): “Private Enterprise or Public Utility? Output, Pricing and Investment on English and Welsh Railways, 1870–1914.” Journal of Transport History 1, no. 1 9– 28. 003 ChandlerAlfred D. 1977. The Visible Hand: The Managerial Revolution in American Business. Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press. 004 CraftsNicholas. (2004): “Steam as a General Purpose Technology: A Growth Accounting Perspective.” Economic Journal 114, no. 495 338– 51. 005 CraftsNicholas. (2005): “Market Potential in British Regions, 1871–1931.” Regional Studies 39, no. 9 1159– 66. 006 CraftsNicholas. (2005): “Regional GDP in Britain, 1871–1911: Some Estimates.” Scottish Journal of Political Economy 52, no. 1 54– 64. 007 DennisonStanley. 1939. The Location of Industry and the Depressed Areas. London: Oxford University Press. 008 EstevadeordalAntoni, BrianFrantz, and Alan M.Taylor. (2003): “The Rise and Fall of World Trade, 1870–1939.” Quarterly Journal of Economics 118, no. 2 359– 407. 009 GearyFrank, and TomStark. (2002): “Examining Ireland's Post–Famine Economic Growth Performance.” Economic Journal 112, no. 7 919– 35. 010 GourvishTerence R. 1980. Railways and the Economy, 1830–1914. London: Macmillan. 011 HawkeGary R. 1970. Railways and Economic Growth in England and Wales, 1840–1870. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 012 HudsonPatricia. 1989. “The Regional Perspective.” In Regions and Industries: A Perspective on the Industrial Revolution in Britain, edited by PatriciaHudson, 5– 38. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 013 HumeJohn R., and MilesOglethorpe. 1986. “Engineering.” In Atlas of Industrializing Britain, 1780–1914, edited by JohnLangton and RobertJ.Morris, 136– 39. London: Methuen. 014 KaukiainenYrjo. “How the Price of Distance Declined: Ocean Freights for Grain and Coal from the 1870s to 2000.” mimeo, Department of History, University of Helsinki. 015 KeebleD., P. L.Owens, and C.Thompson. (1982), “Regional Accessibility and Economic Potential in the European Community.” Regional Studies 16, no. 6 419– 32. 016 KimSukkoo. (1995): “Expansion of Markets and the Geographic Distribution of Economic Activities: The Trends in U.S. Regional Manufacturing Structure, 1860–1987.” Quarterly Journal of Economics 110, no. 4 881– 908. 017 KimSukkoo. (1998): “Economic Integration and Convergence: U.S. Regions, 1840–1987.” This Journal 58, no. 3 659– 83. 018 KimSukkoo. (1999): “Regions, Resources, and Economic Geography: Sources of U.S. Regional Comparative Advantage, 1880–1987.” Regional Science and Urban Economics 29, no. 1 1– 32. 019 KrugmanPaul. 1991. Geography and Trade. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. 020 LangtonJohn, and Robert J.Morris. 1986. “Introduction.” In Atlas of Industrializing Britain, 1780–1914, edited by JohnLangton and Robert J.Morris, xxii– xxx. London: Methuen. 021 LeeClive H. 1971. Regional Economic Growth in the United Kingdom since the 1880s. London: Allen and Unwin. 022 LeeClive H. 1979. British Regional Employment Statistics, 1841–1971. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 023 Midelfart-KnarvikKaren H., Henry G.Overman, Stephen J.Redding, etal 2000. “The Location of European Industry.” Economic Papers No. 142 European Commission. Brussels. 024 PollardSidney. 1981. Peaceful Conquest. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 025 Prados de la EscosuraLeandro. (2000): “International Comparisons of Real Product, 1820$–$1990: An Alternative Dataset.” Explorations in Economic History 37, no. 1 1– 41. 026 RichardsonJeremy D., and PeterSmith. (1995). “Sectoral Growth across U.S. States: Factor Content, Linkages, and Trade.” NBER Working Paper No. 5094. 027 ThomasMark. 1984. “An Input-Output Approach to the British Economy, 1890–1914.” D. Phil. Thesis, University of Oxford. 028 VenablesAnthony J. (1996): “Equilibrium Locations of Vertically Linked Industries.” International Economic Review 37 341– 59. 029 VenablesAnthony J., and MichaelGasiorek. “The Welfare Implications of Transport Improvements in the Presence of Market Failure.” In Reports to the Standing Advisory Committee on Trunk Road Assessment, DETR, 7– 58. London: DETR. 030 von TunzelmannG. Nicholas. 1986. “Coal and Steam Power.” In Atlas of Industrializing Britain, 1780–1914, edited by JohnLangton and Robert J.Morris, 72– 79. London: Methuen.
URI:	http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/699