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on Business, Economic and Financial History |
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Issue of 2008‒06‒27
twelve papers chosen by |
| By: | Christer Ericsson (Department of Social Sciences, Malardalen University); Bjorn Horgby (Department of Humanities, Orebro University) |
| Abstract: | During the second parts of the nineteenth century and the first part of the twentieth century the middle class patriarch played an important role in the formation and transformation of the bourgeoisie in Sweden - especially in the upper middle class dominated by industrialists, wholesalers and owners of "bruk". According to the comic press in the early twentieth century appearance was characteristic. Obviously he was a man. In the caricatures he often carried a high cylinder, wore a sturdy moustache a' la Bismarck, was evidently thick and because of that a back leaned posture, and had a authoritative appearance. Often he smoked a fat cigar. Here we will discuss his world view. First of all we discuss him on the basis of the changes in the bourgeois public and its patriarchal relations. Then we consider important parts of the world view and lastly we discuss the middle class patriarch as an industrialist. |
| Date: | 2008–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tky:fseres:2008cf571&r=his |
| By: | Xavier Tafunell |
| Abstract: | Investment in machinery is a key aspect in the analysis of long-term economic growth during the era of the spread of industrialisation. But, historiography has only revealed what the pace of capital accumulation was in a few Latin American economies. This article offers continuous (annual) and consistent series on the magnitude of this investment in all of the Latin American countries for the period at the height of the first globalisation, 1890-1930. The paper gives special attention to comparative analysis, showing the differences that exist at the heart of the Latin American community, in the levels of capital formation in machinery as well as in the national development of this over time. The differences in the levels appear very indicative of the unequal degree of development reached by these economies. This article puts to test the hypothesis of intraregional divergence, obtaining the tentative result that there was divergence until 1913, but that there was convergence from 1914-1930. |
| Keywords: | Capital equipment, Latin American industrialization, Investment in machinery, Convergence |
| JEL: | N16 E22 O54 E32 |
| Date: | 2008–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:upf:upfgen:1095&r=his |
| By: | Olav Bjerkholt (School of Economics and Management, University of Aarhus, Denmark) |
| Abstract: | Trygve Haavelmo spent the academic year 1938/39 at the University of Aarhus as a teacher in statistics. He would immediately after his Aarhus stay leave for the United States, where he completed The Probability Approach in Econometrics (1944) and later worked at the Cowles Commission before returning to Norway in 1947. The purpose of the paper has been to assess whether Haavelmo in Aarhus was already on a path towards the Probability Approach or, as suggested in the history of econometrics literature, this path did not really open up until Haavelmo came to the U.S.A. and got converted to probability reasoning. The paper gives a survey of Haavelmo’s papers and other work while in Aarhus. The evidence indicates that Haavelmo had adopted probability ideas by the time he was in Aarhus and seemed well prepared to embark on his magnum opus. |
| Keywords: | Economic history, the probability approach in econometrics |
| JEL: | B23 B31 |
| Date: | 2007–11–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aah:create:2007-40&r=his |
| By: | Kris J. Mitchener; Mari Ohnuki |
| Abstract: | Using a newly-constructed panel data set which includes annual estimates of lending rates for 47 Japanese prefectures, we analyze why interest rates converged over the period 1884-1925. We find evidence that technological innovations and institutional changes played an important role in creating a national capital market in Japan. In particular, the diffusion in the use of the telegraph, the growth in commercial branch banking networks, and the development of Bank of Japan's branches reduced interest-rate differentials. Bank regulation appears to have played little role in impeding financial market integration. |
| JEL: | F15 G21 N15 O16 |
| Date: | 2008–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:14090&r=his |
| By: | Ryan D. Edwards |
| Abstract: | A considerable amount of uncertainty surrounds life expectancy, e0, the average length of life. The standard deviation in adult life spans, S10 , is about 15 years in the U.S., and theory and evidence suggest it is costly. In this paper, I calibrate a standard intertemporal model to show that one less year in standard deviation is worth about half a mean life year. Differences in S10 amplify measured differences in e0 between the U.S. and other industrialized countries, and accounting for historical gains against S10 raises the total value of mortality declines during the last century by about 25 percent. |
| JEL: | I10 J11 J17 O11 |
| Date: | 2008–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:14093&r=his |
| By: | Dan Bogart; Gary Richardson |
| Abstract: | Between 1660 and 1830, Parliament passed thousands of acts restructuring rights to real and equitable estates. These estate acts enabled individuals and families to sell, mortgage, lease, exchange, and improve land previously bound by inheritance rules and other legal legacies. The loosening of these legal constraints facilitated the reallocation of land and resources towards higher-value uses. Data reveals correlations between estate acts, urbanization, and economic development during the decades surrounding the Industrial Revolution. |
| JEL: | D02 D61 D63 D86 K0 K11 N0 N43 N93 O12 P48 R12 R14 |
| Date: | 2008–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:14107&r=his |
| By: | Crafts, Nicholas; Toniolo, Gianni |
| Abstract: | This paper surveys the extensive literature on European economic growth since 1950. It presents an overview of comparative growth performance together with benchmarked growth accounting estimates. The growth experience is considered in terms of three periods, the Golden Age of 1950-73, the Growth Slowdown of 1973-1995, and the New Economy period since the mid-1990s, both across countries and across regions. The key conclusion is that study of the historical record underlines the importance of incentive structures for growth outcomes while sustaining growth performance over the long run requires the (often difficult) adaptation of institutions and policies as catch up becomes more complete and new technological epochs arrive. |
| Keywords: | catch-up growth; Golden Age; ICT; slowdown; total factor productivity |
| JEL: | N14 O47 O52 |
| Date: | 2008–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:6863&r=his |
| By: | Jan Fagerberg (Centre for Technology, Innovation and Culture, University of Oslo); David Mowery (University of California, Berkeley); Bart Verspagen (Centre for Technology, Innovation and Culture, University of Oslo) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses the co-evolution of science, technology and innovation policy and industrial structure in a small, resource-based economy (Norway). The contributions of the paper are threefold. First, it develops an evolutionary and historically oriented approach to the study of the development of science, technology and innovation policy based that may have wide applicability. Second, if focuses on a particular type of innovation, innovation in resource-based activities, that differs in many respects from the more commonly studied “high-tech” case and which arguably be of relevance for may present day developing countries. Third, the paper advances our understanding of the roles played by institutions and politics in innovation. Previous work on national systems of innovation has often devoted little attention to these matters, possibly because much of it examines “snapshots” of various innovation systems at a specific point in time and lacks historical depth. |
| Date: | 2008–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tik:inowpp:20080624&r=his |
| By: | Lars P. Feld; Benno Torgler; Bin Ding |
| Abstract: | The paper explores whether a social learning model helps explain the observed conformity and compliance with social norms after the unification of Germany. We compare tax morale, (the willingness to pay taxes), between inhabitants of East and West Germany during the post-unification period, using three World Values Survey/European Values Survey waves between 1990 and 1999. German unification is of particular interest in analysing tax morale since it is close to a quasi-natural experiment. Factors such as a common language, similar education systems and a shared cultural and political history prior to the separation after the Second World War can be controlled because they are similar. Our findings indicate that the social learning model employed in this study helps to predict the development of tax morale over time. It is clear that tax morale values converged within a mere nine years after unification, due largely to a strong change in the level of tax morale in the East. Thus, the paper contributes to the literature that attempts to explain how norms arise, how they are maintained and how they are changed. |
| Keywords: | Tax Morale, Social Learning, Conformity, Convergence Process, Deterrence, Quasi-Natural Experiment |
| JEL: | H26 H73 D78 C93 |
| Date: | 2008–06–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:qut:dpaper:232&r=his |
| By: | Chap Moly |
| Abstract: | Infrastructure development means for the making of living environment, transport and communications, disaster prevention and national land conservation, agriculture, forestry and fisheries, and energy production and supply. Transport infrastructure development in Cambodia involved with (1) road, (2) railway, (3) port, inland-water way and (4) aviation. All model of transport infrastructure have special different kinds of importance. Railway is different from other base important of railways are transport passengers and traffic freight especially transport for heavy goods in huge capacity and in long distance by safer and faster. Transport in Cambodia for traffic freight export import base from Thailand and other via Sisophon and Shihanoukvill port. Traffic is increasing rapidly during nowadays railway condition in adequate of demand required. This is why Railway is selected as the topic of this paper to prevent monopoly of road transport. This paper, does review about infrastructure development plan for Railway in Cambodia as a long term strategy by review and analysis forecast on the previous performance of Royal Railways of Cambodia (RRC) transport traffic involved with condition of infrastructure development of railway in Cambodia. And also review the plan of development RRC but just only detail a plan of rehabilitation that is immediately needed. Suggest some recommendation at the last part. As Cambodia is a member country of ASEAN and also Mekong sub-region. For make sure that transport networks work effectively with a progress of economic integration, we make clear what is important for infrastructure development of railway in Cambodia from the standpoint of the development plan of Mekong sub-region. This paper is organized by 4 sections. Section 1 review about Infrastructure Development of Railway in Cambodia (IDRC) Historical Background, Follow by Section 2 will review the Current Situation of IDRC and some analysis of transport performance from previous years, Then Section 3 review of the focusing on traffic transport of RRC in the future, Section 4 review Infrastructure Development of Railway in Cambodia Future plans in long term; at last conclusion and recommendation. In section 1 does review history background of RRC from the rail first begun. But why is needed to review? Because of history background is involved infrastructure development of RRC in present time. History background made big gaps constraint and obstacle for socioeconomic development and poverty reduction, also left Cambodia with tragedy and left developed behind. After that remain infrastructure development needs huge fund and long time for restoration, reconstruction, rehabilitation and development into new technology as most of world practice. |
| Keywords: | Asia, Developing countries, Service sector, Networks, Cambodia, Railway, Infrastructure |
| JEL: | R41 R49 |
| Date: | 2008–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jet:dpaper:dpaper150&r=his |
| By: | Renée B. Adams; Hamid Mehran |
| Abstract: | The subprime crisis highlights how little we know about the governance of banks. This paper addresses a long-standing gap in the literature by analyzing board governance using a sample of banking firm data that spans forty years. We examine the relationship between board structure (size and composition) and bank performance, as well as some determinants of board structure. We document that mergers and acquisitions activity influences bank board composition, and we provide new evidence that organizational structure is significantly related to bank board size. We argue that these factors may explain why banking firms with larger boards do not underperform their peers in terms of Tobin's Q. Our findings suggest caution in applying regulations motivated by research on the governance of nonfinancial firms to banking firms. Since organizational structure is not specific to banks, our results suggest that it may be an important determinant for the boards of nonfinancial firms with complex organizational structures such as business groups. |
| Keywords: | Bank management ; Bank mergers ; Corporate governance ; Bank directors ; Competition |
| Date: | 2008 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fednsr:330&r=his |
| By: | Laura Davidoff; Alan Duhs (School of Economics, The University of Queensland) |
| Abstract: | Aboriginal welfare policy of recent decades has been widely rejected as a failure. Radically different policies are now being trialed, in recognition of the continuing large gap between indigenous and non-indigenous living standards. Some Aboriginal leaders themselves have called for a rejection of the passive welfare policies of the past, in acceptance of a Friedman-style critique of ‘money for nothing’ welfare handouts, while nonetheless calling for a Sen-style capabilities approach to the policy needs of the future. |
| Date: | 2008 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:qld:uq2004:371&r=his |