Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of figures
- List of tables
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- 1 Perspectives on long-term economic growth variations
- 2 Statistical methodology
- 3 Production trends in the world economy
- 4 Price trends
- 5 Innovation clusters and Kondratieff waves
- 6 The national aspects of Kuznets swings, 1850–1913
- 7 The international aspects of Kuznets swings, 1850–1913
- 8 A long-term perspective of interwar economic growth
- 9 Some conclusions on the postwar boom, 1950–1973
- 10 Conclusions
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
6 - The national aspects of Kuznets swings, 1850–1913
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 04 May 2010
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of figures
- List of tables
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- 1 Perspectives on long-term economic growth variations
- 2 Statistical methodology
- 3 Production trends in the world economy
- 4 Price trends
- 5 Innovation clusters and Kondratieff waves
- 6 The national aspects of Kuznets swings, 1850–1913
- 7 The international aspects of Kuznets swings, 1850–1913
- 8 A long-term perspective of interwar economic growth
- 9 Some conclusions on the postwar boom, 1950–1973
- 10 Conclusions
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
With the exception of studies dealing with America (Easterlin, 1968; Kuznets, 1958), the national aspects of long swings have been neglected. Lewis and O'Leary (1955) suggested some time ago that the causation for Kuznets swings is best understood in a national perspective. The evidence presented in this chapter suggests that important national specific aspects have been neglected in long-swing discussions. The problem is particularly serious for understanding the French and German swings since these economies have usually been lumped into a common European core economy in discussions of long swings. Although much attention has been devoted to understanding British long swings most of the emphasis has been placed on international aspects. The idea developed here is that Kuznets swings are a series of episodic events and national growth conditions are essential to understanding these traverses.
Most long-swing studies work with a dynamic income model, assigning a central role to population-sensitive investments. Moreover, the emphasis has been on the Anglo-American economies, with the aim of explaining international migration movements. Kuznets (1958) suggested that internal and international migration responded to development opportunities in the American economy, inducing multiplier-accelerator effects. Abramovitz (1959, 1961) and Easterlin (1968) have offered similar explanations for the pre-1913 era. It is frequently argued that since migrants to America came from such diverse environments (Europe, Canada, Latin America, Asia) they must have been responding to the common stimulus of American economic growth.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Phases of Economic Growth, 1850–1973Kondratieff Waves and Kuznets Swings, pp. 101 - 131Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1988