Was Canadian Manufacturing Inefficient before WWI? The Case of the Cotton Textile Industry, 1870-1910

Michael Hinton
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Michael Hinton: The Rimini Centre for Economic Analysis (RCEA); Ryerson University

Working Paper series from Rimini Centre for Economic Analysis

Abstract: Is it possible that generations of Canadian economists and historians have got it wrong and Canadian manufacturing before WWI was fairly efficient? Yes, because they do not pay enough attention to the measurement of efficiency. New cliometric evidence supporting the revisionist side of this question is presented on total factor productivity and five other measures of efficiency for the Canadian cotton textile industry, 1870-1910, an industry long thought to be grossly inefficient, which shows the industry performed strongly relative to the U.S. cotton textile industry and other cotton textile industries elsewhere in the world.

Keywords: Manufacturing; Nineteenth Century. Canada. Cotton Textiles; Efficiency; Total Factor Productivity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D24 L67 N60 N61 O14 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011-09
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-eff and nep-his
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:rim:rimwps:44_11

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