Productivity Growth and the Regional Dynamics of Antebellum Southern Development / Alan L. Olmstead, Paul W. Rhode.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Olmstead, Alan L.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Rhode, Paul W.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w16494.

NBER working paper series no. w16494

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2010.

Summary:

Between 1800 and 1860, the United States became the preeminent world supplier of cotton as output increased sixty-fold. Technological changes, including the introduction of improved cotton varieties, contributed significantly to this growth. Measured output per worker in the cotton sector rose four-fold and large regional differences emerged. By 1840, output per worker in the New South was twice that in the Old South. The economy-wide increase is explained, in equal measure, by growth in output per worker at fixed locations and by the reallocation of labor across regions. These results offer a new view on the dynamics of economic development in antebellum America.

Notes:

Print version record

October 2010.