Farming Output, Concentration, and Market Access: Evidence from the Nineteenth Century American Railroad Expansion

The wealth of the Swedish peasant farmer class (1750–1900): composition and distribution

Rural History ◽

10.1017/s0956793319000116 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 30 (02) ◽

pp. 129-145 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Erik Bengtsson ◽

Patrick Svensson

Keyword(s):

Nineteenth Century ◽

Gini Coefficient ◽

Market Access ◽

Coastal Areas ◽

Mining District ◽

Peasant Farmer ◽

Grain Markets ◽

Foreign Demand ◽

The Gini Coefficient ◽

Peasant Farmers

AbstractUsing about 1,730 probate inventories, this article studies the wealth of peasant farmers in Sweden for the years 1750, 1800, 1850 and 1900. Average wealth grew rapidly, tripling over the nineteenth century, but it did not grow equally: the Gini coefficient for the farmers’ wealth grew from 0.46 in 1750 to 0.73 in 1900. Farmers who lived close to the major grain markets in Stockholm and the mining district of Bergslagen were wealthier than others, as were farmers on fertile plains and, in 1900, those living in coastal areas. Increased market access – in terms of cities and foreign demand – meant that farmers well placed in terms of geography and infrastructure benefited much more than farmers on what became the periphery. The diversity of farmers’ wealth grew, as did their financial sophistication.

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The Economics of Speed: The Electrification of the Streetcar System and the Decline of Mom-and-Pop Stores in Boston, 1885–1905

American Economic Journal Applied Economics ◽

10.1257/app.20180795 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (4) ◽

pp. 285-324

Author(s):

Wei You

Keyword(s):

Nineteenth Century ◽

Market Segmentation ◽

Small Firms ◽

Natural Experiment ◽

Market Access ◽

Developing Economies ◽

Sharp Decline ◽

Food Retail ◽

American Economy

Small firms dominated the American economy in the nineteenth century, and they still dominate in many developing economies today. This paper tests whether geographic market segmentation due to underdeveloped intracity transportation technology precludes the emergence of large retail/wholesale stores. I exploit the natural experiment of Boston’s rapid electrification from its previous horse-drawn streetcar system, which occurred between 1889 and 1896. Analyzing newly digitized data, I find that rail-connected locations experienced a sharp decline in the share of sole proprietorships among food retail/wholesale establishments after the electrification relative to off-rail locations. Changes in market access due to streetcar electrification can explain this effect. (JEL L25, L81, L92, N71, N91, R41)

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