Productivity and Performance in the Paper Industry: Labour, Capital and Technology in Britain and America, 1860–1914 (Cambridge Studies in Modern Economic History, Series Number 4)

In a significant new contribution to economic history, Dr. Magee examines an important British industry that, like many others, declined in relative importance during the period prior to 1914. He compares Britain's performance in papermaking with its main international rivals of the time, America and Germany, addressing such central subjects as technological change, entrepreneurship and productivity. The book will be invaluable to scholars of economic history as well as those simply interested in papermaking. It is often claimed that the origins of Britain's relative economic decline are first witnessed in the period 1860 to 1914. For the paper-making industry, this was also a period in which an array of important new forces, including the development of new raw materials and the move to ever larger scales of production, came on the scene. Gary Bryan Magee looks at the effect of these changes and assesses how effectively the industry coped with the new pressures, drawing upon an extensive range of quantitative and archival sources from Britain, America, and other countries. Along the way, Dr. Magee addresses issues central to the understanding of industrial competitiveness, such as technological change, entrepreneurship, productivity, trade policy, and industrial relations. Historians, economists, scholars of economic history, and anyone with an interest in the paper industry will find this wide-ranging account indispensable. This pioneering 1997 study examines the economic development of the British paper industry between 1860 and 1914 - an era in which it is often claimed that the origins of Britain's relative economic decline are first witnessed. For paper-making, this was also a period in which an array of important new forces, including inter alia the development of new raw materials and the move to ever larger scales of production, came on the scene. Gary Bryan Magee looks at the effect of these changes and assesses how effectively the industry coped with the new pressures, drawing upon an extensive range of quantitative and archival sources from Britain, America, and other countries. Along the way, Dr Magee addresses issues central to the understanding of industrial competitiveness, such as technological change, entrepreneurship, productivity, trade policy, and industrial relations In this 1997 book, Gary Magee examines the performance prior to 1914 of a very important, but little studied, British industry. The author compares Britain's performance in paper-making with its main international rivals, addressing such central subjects as technological change, entrepreneurship and productivity. Viewed from an international perspective, papermaking in Britain is a relatively recent phenomenon.