Did railroads induce or follow economic growth? : urbanization and population growth in the American Midwest, 1850-60 / Jeremy Atack ... [et al.]
Material type:
TextSeries: Working paper series (National Bureau of Economic Research) ; no. 14640.Publication details: Cambridge, MA : National Bureau of Economic Research, 2009Description: 31 p. : ill. ; 22 cmSubject(s): Railroads -- Economic aspects -- Middle West -- History -- 19th century | Economic development -- Middle West -- History -- 19th century | Urbanization -- Middle West -- History -- 19th centuryLOC classification: HB1 | .N38 no.14640Online resources: Click here to access online Summary: For generations of scholars and observers, the "transportation revolution," especially the railroad, has loomed large as a dominant factor in the settlement and development of the United States in the nineteenth century. There has, however, been considerable debate as to whether transportation improvements led economic development or simply followed. Using a newly developed GIS transportation database we examine this issue in the context of the American Midwest, focusing on two indicators of broader economic change, population density and the fraction of population living in urban areas. Our difference in differences estimates (supported by IV robustness checks) strongly suggest that the coming of the railroad had little or no impact upon population densities just as Albert Fishlow concluded some 40 years ago. BUT, our results also imply that the railroad was the "cause" of midwestern urbanization, accounting for more than half of the increase in the fraction of population living in urban areas during the 1850s.
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University of Macedonia Library Βιβλιοστάσιο Β (Stack Room B) | Research Papers | HB1.N38 no.14640 (Browse shelf (Opens below)) | 1 | Available | 0013125614 |
Includes bibliographical references (p. 30-31).
For generations of scholars and observers, the "transportation revolution," especially the railroad, has loomed large as a dominant factor in the settlement and development of the United States in the nineteenth century. There has, however, been considerable debate as to whether transportation improvements led economic development or simply followed. Using a newly developed GIS transportation database we examine this issue in the context of the American Midwest, focusing on two indicators of broader economic change, population density and the fraction of population living in urban areas. Our difference in differences estimates (supported by IV robustness checks) strongly suggest that the coming of the railroad had little or no impact upon population densities just as Albert Fishlow concluded some 40 years ago. BUT, our results also imply that the railroad was the "cause" of midwestern urbanization, accounting for more than half of the increase in the fraction of population living in urban areas during the 1850s.
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