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Mechanization and the spatial distribution of industries in the G erman E mpire, 1875 to 1907
Author(s) -
Gutberlet Theresa
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
the economic history review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.014
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1468-0289
pISSN - 0013-0117
DOI - 10.1111/1468-0289.12028
Subject(s) - standard deviation , incentive , constraint (computer aided design) , steam power , quarter (canadian coin) , distribution (mathematics) , spatial distribution , power (physics) , economic geography , technological change , industrial organization , environmental science , agricultural economics , economics , market economy , geography , mathematics , engineering , mechanical engineering , statistics , archaeology , waste management , physics , mathematical analysis , quantum mechanics , macroeconomics
The adoption of water, steam, and electric power transformed manufacturing in the nineteenth century. This article studies the relationship between this technological change and the spatial distribution of manufacturing industries in the G erman E mpire during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. The adoption of steam powered machinery created incentives for manufacturers to form industry clusters near coal mining regions. Specifically, this article shows that a one standard deviation increase in the average size of steam power operations was associated with a rise in geographic concentration of one‐quarter of a standard deviation. In contrast, a one standard deviation increase in the size of water power operations was associated with a drop in geographic concentration of one‐sixth of a standard deviation. This is consistent with the constraint that water powered plants had to be located on a stream with a sufficient gradient and away from other water powered plants to avoid disruption from neighbouring gates and dams. Together the findings indicate that the transition from water to steam powered machinery contributed to the geographic concentration of manufacturing in the nineteenth century.