Did the Glorious Revolution Contribute to the Transport Revolution? Evidence from Investment in Roads and Rivers

59 Pages Posted: 25 Aug 2009

See all articles by Daniel E. Bogart

Daniel E. Bogart

University of California, Irvine - Department of Economics

Date Written: 2009

Abstract

The Glorious Revolution has been linked with Britain's economic development in the eighteenth century. This paper examines its impact on early transport improvements. First, it shows that several road and river undertakers in the 1600s had their rights violated because of political changes and actions taken by the Crown or Parliament. Second, it shows that the likelihood of rights violations was lower after 1689. Third, it uses structural breaks tests to demonstrate that the level of road and river investment was substantially higher after the mid-1690s. Together the evidence suggests that the institutional changes following the Glorious Revolution reduced political risk and uncertainty for infrastructure undertakers and that they responded by proposing and financing more projects.

Keywords: Property Rights, Investment under Uncertainty, Glorious Revolution, Transport Revolution

Suggested Citation

Bogart, Daniel E., Did the Glorious Revolution Contribute to the Transport Revolution? Evidence from Investment in Roads and Rivers (2009). CELS 2009 4th Annual Conference on Empirical Legal Studies Paper, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1461745 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1461745

Daniel E. Bogart (Contact Author)

University of California, Irvine - Department of Economics ( email )

3151 Social Science Plaza
Irvine, CA 92697-5100
United States

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