神马福利影片

Title: Industrialisation of the Alps

Authors: Hans Manner, Ferdinand Rauch, and Martin Schlesinger

Abstract: We study factors that facilitate the diffusion of technology following the Industrial Revolution. Our novel dataset covers parts of Central Europe with high spatial resolution from 1782 to 1930. Leveraging instrumental

variables and the staggered expansion of the railway network, we document that industrialization flourished particularly where transport infrastructure and resources coincided, highlighting strong complementarities between

these endowments. We show that coal mining served as the predominant driver of this relationship. We only find a negative relationship between pre-existing artisanal skills and railways in predicting growth. Finally, we demonstrate that electrification - though positively associated with growth - primarily reinforced existing patterns.