Market Services and the Productivity Race, 1850–2000
Market Services and the Productivity Race, 1850–2000
Now that services account for such a dominant part of economic activity, it has become apparent that achieving high levels of productivity in the economy requires high levels of productivity in services. This book offers a major reassessment of Britain's comparative productivity performance over the last 150 years. Whereas in the mid-nineteenth century Britain had higher productivity than the United States and Germany, by 1990 both countries had overtaken Britain. The key to achieving high productivity was the 'industrialisation' of market services, which involved both the serving of business and the provision of mass-market consumer services in a more business like fashion. Comparative productivity varied with the uneven spread of industrialised service sector provision across sectors. Stephen Broadberry provides a quantitative overview of these trends, together with a qualitative account of developments within individual sectors, including shipping, railways, road and air transport, telecommunications, wholesale and retail distribution, banking, and finance.
- A major reassessment of Britain's comparative productivity performance over the last 150 years
- Includes a complete sectoral database of comparative productivity performance in the UK, USA and Germany
- Includes detailed studies of most of the major market service sectors
Reviews & endorsements
"Broadberry has written an impressive book that will interest economic historians and students of economic growth, particularly those focusing on Britain."
-Alex Field, Santa Clara University
"Stephen Broadberry's comparative history, mirroring his earlier work on the manufacturing sector, comes, therefore, as a welcome contribution...In short, this is a path breaking book with much stimulating discussion..."
-Alan Booth, University of Exeter, The International History Review
"[...]insightful analysis[...]Broadberry's book will be thought provoking for scholars concerned with current economic developments."
-Barry Eichengreen, University of California, Berkeley, American Historical Review
"An important book, both for students of the British economy and economic history, and for those concerned more generally with economic growth."
James Foreman-Peck, Journal of Economic History
Product details
November 2006Hardback
9780521867184
430 pages
229 × 152 × 24 mm
0.82kg
Available
Table of Contents
- Preface and acknowledgements
- 1. Introduction and overview
- Part I. Measuring Comparative Productivity Performance:
- 2. The contribution of services to the productivity performance of the whole economy
- 3. Comparative productivity performance in market services
- 4. A sectoral data base: Britain, the United States and Germany, 1870–1990
- Part II. Explaining Comparative Productivity Performance:
- 5. Technology, organisational change and the industrialisation of services
- 6. Investment in physical and human capital
- 7. Competition and the institutional framework
- Part III. Reassessing the Performance of British Market Services:
- 8. The 'golden age' of British commerce, 1850–1914
- 9. The collapse of the liberal world economic order, 1914–50
- 10. Completing the industrialisation of services, 1950–90
- 11. British services in the 1990s: a preliminary assessment
- 12. Summary and conclusions
- Bibliography.
