Product Quality and Vertical Integration in the Early Cotton Textile Industry

B-Tier
Journal: Journal of Economic History
Year: 1988
Volume: 48
Issue: 4
Pages: 891-907

Authors (1)

Score contribution per author:

2.011 = (α=2.01 / 1 authors) × 1.0x B-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

This article explores differences between the cotton industries in England and America in the early nineteenth century. I show that the two countries produced almost entirely different products: the Enlish made fine fabrics; the Americans, coarse. The cause of this disjunction is found in the American tariff policy, whichwas influenced by the Massachusetts cotton manufacturers. Since coarse spinning promoted vertical integration, the American product structure favored integration. This argument reveals that the variables analyzed were jointly determined, since the Massachusetts firms with the political clout to affect the tariff were vertically integrated.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:cup:jechis:v:48:y:1988:i:04:p:891-907_00
Journal Field
Economic History
Author Count
1
Added to Database
2026-01-29