Railroad expansion and entrepreneurship: evidence from Meiji Japan

John Tang

No 11, CEH Discussion Papers from Centre for Economic History, Research School of Economics, Australian National University

Abstract: Railroads in Meiji Japan are credited with facilitating factor mobility as well as access to human and financial capital, but the impact on firms is unclear. Using a newly developed firm-level dataset and a difference-in-differences model that exploits the temporal and spatial variation of railroad expansion, I assess the relationship between railways and firm activity across Japan. Results indicate that railroad expansion corresponded with increased firm activity, particularly in manufacturing, although this effect is mitigated in less populous regions. These findings are consistent with industrial agglomeration in areas with larger markets and earlier development among both new and existing establishments.

Keywords: agglomeration; entrepreneurship; firm genealogy; late development (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: L26 N75 O53 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013-01
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Related works:
Journal Article: Railroad Expansion and Industrialization: Evidence from Meiji Japan (2014)
Working Paper: Railroad expansion and entrepreneurship: Evidence from Meiji Japan (2013)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:auu:hpaper:011

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