INTERINDUSTRY FACTOR MOBILITY AND TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE: EVIDENCE ON WAGE AND PROFIT DISPERSION ACROSS U.S. INDUSTRIES, 1820–1990

Michael J. Hiscox

The Journal of Economic History, 2002, vol. 62, issue 2, 383-416

Abstract: Interindustry factor mobility is a crucial determinant of the income-distribution effects of exogenous changes in relative commodity prices. This examination of interindustry variation in wages and profits using data from manufacturing industries from 1820 to 1990 suggests that interindustry factor mobility may be strongly related to the processes of industrialization. Development in the nineteenth century produced a sharp rise in mobility (a decline in interindustry wage and profit differentials) due to rapid improvements in transportation and the introduction of factory production. Twentieth-century industrialization, involving greater reliance on specialized equipment and knowledge, reduced levels of interindustry mobility.

Date: 2002
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