The Relative Stability of German and American Industrial Growth, 1880-1913: A Comparative Analysis

WACHSTUMSZYKLEN DER DEUTSCHEN WIRTSCHAFT, W.H. Schroder, R. Spree, eds., pp. 208-232, Stuttgart: Klett-Cotta, 1980

53 Pages Posted: 1 May 2008

See all articles by Alexander J. Field

Alexander J. Field

Santa Clara University - Leavey School of Business - Economics Department

Abstract

German. industrial expansion in the period 1880¿1913 was significantly more rapid than that of the United Kingdom, and substantially less volatile than that of the United States. A partial explanation for the relatively stable growth path of the German economy during these years may be found in the greater relative importance and volatility of the railroad construction component of net investment in the United States. By 1880 only a little over one-third of the U.S. final rail net was in place, compared with over half in the case of Germany. Compared to Germany, railroad investment in the United States between 1880 and World War I was, on average, much larger absolutely. It was also much larger in comparison to total population, total industrial output, and in comparison to expenditures on residential construction. In addition it was more. volatile. The lesser importance. of this component of autonomous expenditure in the German case partially accounts for the relative nonvolatility of the German industrial output series

Keywords: Business Cycles, Volatility, German economic history, US Economic History

JEL Classification: E32, N11, N13, N71, N73

Suggested Citation

Field, Alexander J., The Relative Stability of German and American Industrial Growth, 1880-1913: A Comparative Analysis. WACHSTUMSZYKLEN DER DEUTSCHEN WIRTSCHAFT, W.H. Schroder, R. Spree, eds., pp. 208-232, Stuttgart: Klett-Cotta, 1980, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1127424

Alexander J. Field (Contact Author)

Santa Clara University - Leavey School of Business - Economics Department ( email )

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