Engines of Growth: Farm Tractors and Twentieth-Century U.S. Economic Welfare

Richard Steckel and William J. White

No 17879, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: The role of twentieth-century agricultural mechanization in changing the productivity, employment opportunities, and appearance of rural America has long been appreciated. Less attention has been paid to the impact made by farm tractors, combines, and associated equipment on the standard of living of the U.S. population as a whole. This paper demonstrates, through use of a detailed counterfactual analysis, that mechanization in the production of farm products increased GDP by more than 8.0 percent, using 1954 as a base year. This result suggests that studying individual innovations can significantly increase our understanding of the nature of economic growth.

JEL-codes: N52 O30 Q16 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012-03
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-agr, nep-his and nep-hme
Note: DAE PR
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