Responding to Relative Decline: The Plank Road Boom of Antebellum New York
17 Pages Posted: 8 Jan 2004
Abstract
From 1847 to 1853 New Yorkers built more than 3,500 miles of wooden roads. Financed primarily by residents of declining rural townships, plank roads were seen as a means of linking isolated areas to the canal and railroad network. A broad range of individuals invested in the roads, suggesting that the drive for bigger markets was supported by a large cross section of the population. Considerable commuity spirit animated the movement, indicating that New Yorkers used to social capital of the community to reach their entrepreneurial aspirations.
Keywords: public goods, free riding, community, regulation, voluntary provision, plank roads
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