Abstract
This paper revisits the issue of the productivity performance of Britain's railways with an improved dataset and modern cliometrics. We find a slowdown in TFP growth between 1850 and 1870, after which it stabilized at about 1.1%. An analysis of company-level productivity performance reveals large discrepancies in TFP growth and substantial cost inefficiency. The evidence suggests that there was managerial failure in companies with agency problems in a context of collusion and high entry barriers. A wider implication is that the neoclassical exoneration of late-Victorian British management may be less convincing for the services sector than for manufacturing.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 608-634 |
| Number of pages | 27 |
| Journal | Explorations in Economic History |
| Volume | 44 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Oct 2007 |
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Keywords
- Railways
- Total factor productivity
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- History
- Economics and Econometrics
Cite this
Total factor productivity growth on Britain's railways, 1852-1912 : A reappraisal of the evidence. / Crafts, Nicholas; Mills, Terence C.; Mulatu, Abay.
In: Explorations in Economic History, Vol. 44, No. 4, 01.10.2007, p. 608-634.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Total factor productivity growth on Britain's railways, 1852-1912
T2 - A reappraisal of the evidence
AU - Crafts, Nicholas
AU - Mills, Terence C.
AU - Mulatu, Abay
PY - 2007/10/1
Y1 - 2007/10/1
N2 - This paper revisits the issue of the productivity performance of Britain's railways with an improved dataset and modern cliometrics. We find a slowdown in TFP growth between 1850 and 1870, after which it stabilized at about 1.1%. An analysis of company-level productivity performance reveals large discrepancies in TFP growth and substantial cost inefficiency. The evidence suggests that there was managerial failure in companies with agency problems in a context of collusion and high entry barriers. A wider implication is that the neoclassical exoneration of late-Victorian British management may be less convincing for the services sector than for manufacturing.
AB - This paper revisits the issue of the productivity performance of Britain's railways with an improved dataset and modern cliometrics. We find a slowdown in TFP growth between 1850 and 1870, after which it stabilized at about 1.1%. An analysis of company-level productivity performance reveals large discrepancies in TFP growth and substantial cost inefficiency. The evidence suggests that there was managerial failure in companies with agency problems in a context of collusion and high entry barriers. A wider implication is that the neoclassical exoneration of late-Victorian British management may be less convincing for the services sector than for manufacturing.
KW - Railways
KW - Total factor productivity
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=34548205880&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.eeh.2007.01.002
DO - 10.1016/j.eeh.2007.01.002
M3 - Article
VL - 44
SP - 608
EP - 634
JO - Explorations in Economic History
JF - Explorations in Economic History
SN - 0014-4983
IS - 4
ER -