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Explaining America's Surge in Manufactured Exports, 1880-1913

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  • Douglas A. Irwin

    (Dartmouth College and NBER)

Abstract

The United States became a net exporter of manufactured goods around 1910 after a dramatic surge in iron and steel exports began in the mid-1890s. This paper argues that natural-resource abundance fueled the expansion of iron and steel exports in part by enabling a sharp reduction in the price of U.S. exports relative to other competitors. The commercial exploitation of the Mesabi iron ore range, for example, reduced domestic ore prices by 50% in the mid-1890s and was equivalent to over a decade's worth of industry productivity improvement in its effect on iron and steel export prices. The nontradability of American ore resulted in its distinctive impact on the pattern of U.S. trade. The results are consistent with Wright's (1990) finding that U.S. manufactured exports were natural-resource-intensive at this time. © 2003 President and Fellows of Harvard College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Suggested Citation

  • Douglas A. Irwin, 2003. "Explaining America's Surge in Manufactured Exports, 1880-1913," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 85(2), pages 364-376, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:tpr:restat:v:85:y:2003:i:2:p:364-376
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    Cited by:

    1. Antonio Tena‐Junguito & Maria Isabel Restrepo‐Estrada, 2023. "Power politics and the expansion of US exports, 1879–1938," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 76(4), pages 1051-1073, November.
    2. Allen, Robert C., 2014. "American Exceptionalism as a Problem in Global History," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 74(2), pages 309-350, June.
    3. Douglas A. Irwin, 2019. "U.S. Trade Policy in Historical Perspective," NBER Working Papers 26256, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Stéphane Becuwe & Bertrand Blancheton & Christopher M Meissner, 2018. "Stages of diversification: France, 1836–1938," European Review of Economic History, European Historical Economics Society, vol. 22(4), pages 430-461.
    5. William Hanlon, 2017. "Dynamic Comparative Advantage in International Shipbuilding: The Transition from Wood to Steel," 2017 Meeting Papers 140, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    6. Brian D. Varian, 2023. "British exports and foreign tariffs: Insights from the Board of Trade's foreign tariff compilation for 1902," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 76(3), pages 827-843, August.
    7. Brian D. Varian, 2020. "The manufacturing comparative advantages of late-Victorian Britain," Cliometrica, Springer;Cliometric Society (Association Francaise de Cliométrie), vol. 14(3), pages 479-506, September.
    8. Philipp Ager & Markus Brueckner, 2018. "Immigrants' Genes: Genetic Diversity And Economic Development In The United States," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 56(2), pages 1149-1164, April.
    9. David Prentice, 2012. "The rise of the US Portland cement industry and the role of public science," Cliometrica, Journal of Historical Economics and Econometric History, Association Française de Cliométrie (AFC), vol. 6(2), pages 163-192, May.
    10. Ebeling, Francisco, 2022. "Can fossil fuel endowments steer economic development? Evidence from the linkages approach," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    11. Brian D. Varian, 2022. "Imperial preference before the Ottawa Agreements: Evidence from New Zealand's Preferential and Reciprocal Trade Act of 1903," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 75(4), pages 1214-1241, November.
    12. Stephen Broadberry & Douglas A. Irwin, 2007. "Lost Exceptionalism? Comparative Income and Productivity in Australia and the UK, 1861–1948," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 83(262), pages 262-274, September.
    13. Chen, Yao & Ward, Felix, 2019. "When do fixed exchange rates work? Evidence from the Gold Standard," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 158-172.
    14. Geraghty, Thomas M. & Wiseman, Thomas, 2011. "Conflict and compromise: Changes in U.S. strike outcomes, 1880 to 1945," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 48(4), pages 519-537.
    15. Kanda Naknoi, 2008. "Tariffs and the Expansion of the American Pig Iron Industry, 1870-1940," Purdue University Economics Working Papers 1214, Purdue University, Department of Economics.
    16. David Merrett & Simon Ville, 2011. "Tariffs, Subsidies, And Profits: A Re‐Assessment Of Structural Change In Australia 1901–39," Australian Economic History Review, Economic History Society of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 51(1), pages 46-70, March.
    17. Ian Keay & Brian D. Varian, 2024. "The impact of preferential market access: British imports into Canada, 1892–1903," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 57(1), pages 140-164, February.

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