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The Coming of the Railway and United Kingdom Economic Growth

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  • Mitchell, B. R.

Abstract

According to W. W. Rostow, “the introduction of the railroad has been historically the most powerful single initiator of take-offs,” having “three major kinds of impact on economic growth during the take-off period,” namely, lowering transport costs and bringing new areas and products into the market; developing a major new export sector; and leading on to the development of modern coal, iron, and engineering industries. But though all these three can be traced in mid-nineteenth-century Britain, the railways are not accorded the role of initiator in that country since, in the Rostow schema, the take-off had already occurred before the invention of the locomotive. The size of the investment in Britain's railways is such, however, that it is worth examining their impact, even if this was not so overwhelming as in some other countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Mitchell, B. R., 1964. "The Coming of the Railway and United Kingdom Economic Growth," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 24(3), pages 315-336, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:jechis:v:24:y:1964:i:03:p:315-336_06
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    Cited by:

    1. Yang Hu, 2023. "A review of Phillips‐type right‐tailed unit root bubble detection tests," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(1), pages 141-158, February.
    2. Campbell, Gareth, 2010. "Leveraging the British Railway Mania: Derivatives for the Individual Investor," MPRA Paper 21822, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Brian Mitchell & David Chambers & Nick Crafts, 2011. "How good was the profitability of British railways, 1870–1912?," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 64(3), pages 798-831, August.
    4. Campbell, Gareth & Turner, John D. & Walker, Clive B., 2012. "The role of the media in a bubble," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 49(4), pages 461-481.
    5. Alfonso Herranz Loncán, 2004. "La dotación de infraestructuras en España, (1844-1935)," Estudios de Historia Económica, Banco de España, number 45, November.
    6. Alex Trew, 2010. "Infrastructure Finance and Industrial Takeoff in England," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 42(6), pages 985-1010, September.
    7. Crafts, Nicholas & Mills, Terence C. & Mulatu, Abay, 2007. "Total factor productivity growth on Britain's railways, 1852-1912: A reappraisal of the evidence," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 44(4), pages 608-634, October.
    8. Xavier Tafunell & Cristián Ducoing, 2016. "Non-Residential Capital Stock in Latin America, 1875–2008: New Estimates and International Comparisons," Australian Economic History Review, Economic History Society of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 56(1), pages 46-69, March.
    9. Di Liberto, Yuri, 2022. "Hype: The Capitalist Degree of Induced Participation," Review of Capital as Power, Capital As Power - Toward a New Cosmology of Capitalism, vol. 2(2), pages 1-16.
    10. Yang Hu & Les Oxley, 2017. "Exuberance in British Share Prices during the Railway Mania of the 1840s: Evidence from the Phillips, Shi and Yu Test," Working Papers in Economics 17/09, University of Waikato.
    11. Husain, Tehreem & Buchnea, Emily, 2024. "Agents, brokerage and Argentinian railways 1880–1905," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 125980, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    12. Robert J Bennett & Harry Smith & Piero Montebruno & Carry van Lieshout, 2022. "Profitability of small- and medium-sized enterprises in Marshall’s time: sector and spatial heterogeneity in the nineteenth century," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 46(1), pages 219-249.
    13. Alex Trew, 2008. "Infrastructure Finance and Industrial Takeoff in the United Kingdom," CDMA Working Paper Series 200809, Centre for Dynamic Macroeconomic Analysis.
    14. Broadberry, Stephen & de Pleijt, Alexandra M., 2021. "Capital and Economic Growth in Britain, 1270-1870: Preliminary findings," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 546, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).
    15. Pérez-Cervantes Fernando, 2014. "Railroads and Economic Growth: A Trade Policy Approach," Working Papers 2014-14, Banco de México.
    16. Xavier Tafunell & Cristián Ducoing, 2015. "Non-residential capital stock in Latin America. 1875-2008," Economics Working Papers 1472, Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra.
    17. Van De Vijver, Elien & Derudder, Ben & Witlox, Frank, 2014. "Exploring causality in trade and air passenger travel relationships: the case of Asia-Pacific, 1980–2010," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 142-150.
    18. Bennett, Robert J. & Montebruno, Piero & Van Lieshout, Carry & Smith, Harry, 2022. "Business entry and exit: career changes of proprietors in England and Wales (1851-81) using record-linkage," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 113867, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    19. Campbell, Gareth & Turner, John, 2010. "‘The Greatest Bubble in History’: Stock Prices during the British Railway Mania," MPRA Paper 21820, University Library of Munich, Germany.

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