Total factor productivity growth on Britain's railways, 1852-1912: A reappraisal of the evidence

Nicholas Crafts, Terence C. Mills, Abay Mulatu

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    31 Citations (Scopus)

    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 languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)608-634
    Number of pages27
    JournalExplorations in Economic History
    Volume44
    Issue number4
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 1 Oct 2007

    Keywords

    • Railways
    • Total factor productivity

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • History
    • Economics and Econometrics

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