Ocean Freight Rates and Productivity, 1740–1913: The Primacy of Mechanical Invention Reaffirmed

Knick Harley

The Journal of Economic History, 1988, vol. 48, issue 4, 851-876

Abstract: This article demonstrates that new industrial technology caused a revolutionary decline in nineteenth-century freight rates. This overturns Douglass North's well-known conclusion that organizational improvements were the dominant source of savings. While North's American freight rate series declines prior to the use of the metal steamship, British rates decline only modestly prior to 1850 and then rapidly as metal steamships come into use. Cotton freights dominate North's index and declined when cotton became more tightly packed for shipment. Metal ships and steam propulsion, however, caused a general decline in freight rates after 1850.

Date: 1988
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Working Paper: OCEAN FREIGHT RATES AND PRODUCTIVITY, 1740-1913: THE PRIMACY OF MECHANICAL INVENTION REAFFIRMED (1988)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cup:jechis:v:48:y:1988:i:04:p:851-876_00

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