Publication
The Yankees of Europe? A New View on Technology and Productivity in German Manufacturing in the Early Twentieth Century
Timmer, M. P., Veenstra, J. & Woltjer, P. J., Sep-2016, In : Journal of Economic History. 76, 3, p. 874-908 35 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Documents
- yankees_of_europe_a_new_view_on_technology_and_productivity_in_german_manufacturing_in_the_early_twentieth_century
Final publisher's version, 628 KB, PDF document
DOI
Labor productivity in German manufacturing lagged persistently behind the United States in the early twentieth century. Traditionally, this is attributed to dichotomous technology paths across the Atlantic. However, various industry case studies suggest rapid diffusion of U.S. technologies in Germany. We develop a novel decomposition framework based on Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to reconcile these findings. We conclude that by 1936 inefficient assimilation of modern production techniquesand not the use of different techniquesaccounted for most of the U.S./German labor-productivity gap. Our findings call for a reappraisal of the drivers behind cross-country differences in manufacturing performance.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 874-908 |
Number of pages | 35 |
Journal | Journal of Economic History |
Volume | 76 |
Issue number | 3 |
Publication status | Published - Sep-2016 |
- APPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGY, GROWTH, BRITISH, CONVERGENCE, PERSPECTIVE, BENCHMARK, AMERICAN, INDUSTRY
Keywords
ID: 28064232