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Structural change in the U.S. economy: 1850–1900

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  • Dempster, Gregory M.
  • Isaacs, Justin P.

Abstract

Structural change models are potentially ideal for abstracting from a “watershed” event like the U.S. Civil War, in that they seek to explain the transformation of economies from agricultural to industrial on the basis of labor movement and incentives rather than on technical changes. We define the Civil War as a regime shift that necessitated a structural movement of labor from Southern agriculture to Northern manufacturing, and design empirical tests to determine whether this formulation fits the empirical data better than theories, such as the Beard–Hacker thesis, that characterize the U.S. transformation as an abrupt adjustment to technical shocks. We conclude that the data indicate just such a structural movement.

Suggested Citation

  • Dempster, Gregory M. & Isaacs, Justin P., 2014. "Structural change in the U.S. economy: 1850–1900," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 112-123.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:streco:v:31:y:2014:i:c:p:112-123
    DOI: 10.1016/j.strueco.2014.09.004
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    U.S. Civil War; Beard–Hacker thesis; Lewis two-sector model; Structural change models;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J4 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets
    • N4 - Economic History - - Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation
    • N9 - Economic History - - Regional and Urban History
    • O1 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development
    • O4 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity

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