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Railroads as an Economic Force in American Development1

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  • Jenks, Leland H.

Abstract

Any attempt to discuss the way in which railroads have promoted the rise of the American economy must assume some theory of economic evolution. The following analysis is based upon Schumpeter's theory of innovations. Briefly this theory holds that economic evolution in capitalistic society is started by innovation in some production function, that is, by new combinations of the factors in the economic process. These innovations may center in new commodities or new services, new types of machinery, new forms of organization, new firms, new resources, or new areas. As Schumpeter makes clear, this is not a general theory of economic, much less of social, change. Innovation is an internal factor operating within a given economic system while the system is also affected by external factors (many of them sociological) and by growth (which means, substantially, changes in population and in the sum total of savings made by individuals and firms). These sets of factors interact in economic change. “The changes in the economic process brought about by innovation, together with all their effects, and the response to them by the economic system” constitute economic evolution for Schumpeter.

Suggested Citation

  • Jenks, Leland H., 1944. "Railroads as an Economic Force in American Development1," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 4(1), pages 1-20, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:jechis:v:4:y:1944:i:01:p:1-20_08
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    1. Kakpo, Eliakim & Le Gallo, Julie & Grivault, Camille & Breuillé, Marie, 2019. "Does railway accessibility boost population growth? Evidence from unfinished historical roadways in France," MPRA Paper 96743, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Schürenberg-Frosch, Hannah, 2011. "One model fits all? Determinants of transport costs across sectors and country groups," University of Göttingen Working Papers in Economics 122, University of Goettingen, Department of Economics.
    3. Eichengreen, Barry, 1995. "Financing Infrastructure in Developing Countries: Lessons from the Railway Age," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 10(1), pages 75-91, February.
    4. Katherine White, 2008. "Sending or Receiving Stations? The Dual Influence of Railroads in Early 20th-Century Great Plains Settlement," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 27(1), pages 89-115, February.
    5. Longinotti, Edward, 2012. "Going beyond social savings: how would the British economy have developed in the absence of the railways?: a case study of Brunner Mond 1882-1914," Economic History Working Papers 45562, London School of Economics and Political Science, Department of Economic History.
    6. Leo-Paul Dana, 1995. "Entrepreneurship in a Remote Sub-Arctic Community," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 20(1), pages 57-72, October.
    7. Schürenberg-Frosch, Hannah, 2012. "Determinants of transport costs: Are they uniform across countries?," Economics Discussion Papers 2012-54, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).

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