ABSTRACT: There is now a large volume of growth accounting estimates covering the long run experience of advanced countries. However, most of the studies in economic history are not based on state-of-the-art methods. There is a trade-off between maintaining international comparability and achieving the best results for individual countries. A one-size-fits-all approach Continue reading “Article: Growth Accounting in Economic History”
ABSTRACT: During the nineteenth century, Dutch female labor force participation (FLFP) was relatively low. Most scholars argue that social norms and rising wages were driving this development. However, their conclusions principally apply to married women. We study Continue reading “Article: The Impact of Sectoral Shifts on Dutch Unmarried Women’s Labor Force Participation”
ABSTRACT: The role of physical capital is typically found to be limited in accounting for differences in GDP per worker, but this result may be because capital is customarily assumed to be a homogenous unit. This assumption is misleading, Continue reading “Article: The Composition of Capital and Cross-country Productivity Comparisons”
ABSTRACT: We develop new aggregate TFP growth estimates for the United States between 1899 and 1941, and sectoral estimates at the most disaggregated level so far, 38 industries. We include hard-to-measure services, and a refined measure of sectoral labour quality growth. Continue reading “Article: The Sources of Growth in a Technologically Progressive Economy”
ABSTRACT: A great deal of research in economics and business is devoted to the study of efficiency of individuals, organisations or entire economies. This chapter introduces a family of innovative techniques Continue reading “Chapter: Frontier Analysis”
ABSTRACT: The African Commodity Trade Database (ACTD) aims to stimulate and deepen research on African and global economic history. The database provides export and import series at product level for more than two and a half centuries of African trade (1730-2010). Continue reading “Article: An Introduction to the African Commodity Trade Database, 1730-2010”
ABSTRACT: We use a new trade dataset showing that nineteenth century Sub-Saharan Africa experienced a terms of trade boom comparable to other parts of the ‘global periphery’. A sharp rise in export prices in the five decades before the scramble (1835-1885) Continue reading “Article: An Economic Rationale for the West African Scramble?”
ABSTRACT: Labor productivity in German manufacturing lagged persistently behind the United States in the early twentieth century. Traditionally, this is attributed to dichotomous technology paths across the Atlantic. Continue reading “Article: The Yankees of Europe?”
ABSTRACT: This article re-examines how and when the USA closed the gap and ultimately overtook the UK in terms of both labour productivity and real income. On the basis of a set of sectoral productivity benchmarks for the year 1910 Continue reading “Article: Taking Over”
