How did the US gain industrial leadership?

Résumé du document

The United States acquired many of its modern characteristics during the 19th century. Among these crucial changes was the shift from an agricultural economy to a position of industrial leader in only a few decades. This transformation is clearly illustrated by Jeremy Atack and Peter Passell in their book A New Economic View of American History: "until the 1880s, agriculture was the chief source of wealth in America. By 1890, the value of manufactures was three times that of agricultural products". The late 19th and early 20th century, witnessed the creation of real industrial giants, most of which still exist today: Coca Cola, Heinz, Ford Motor Company, and General Motors are only a few examples of such success stories which today provide a model for the rest of the world. What were the causes of such a sudden transformation in the economic structure? How did the US gain industrial leadership within the course of a century? To answer these questions, we will first focus on technological changes and innovations and discover that they played a major role in this transformation. We will then try to understand how the development of modern management techniques helped American companies become world leaders. Finally, we will show that the movement of concentration which started at that time probably helped many firms obtain a position of leader in their industry.

Extraits

[...] We will then try to understand how the development of modern management techniques helped American companies to become leaders. Finally, we will show that the movement of concentration which started at that time probably helped many firms to obtain a position of leader in their industry. Technological change and economies of scale “Most American industry in 1860 was widely dispersed, rural, small-scale and simple.” This is how Jeremy Atack and Peter Passell describe the American industry of the mid-19th century. [...]

[...] This law prohibited “every contract, combination in the form of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy in restraint of trade or commerce among the several States, or with foreign nations”. But the state intervention proved relatively inefficient and nothing changed immediately: trusts were indeed abandoned but in favor of new forms of concentration such as the holding company. American industrial leadership may thus be partly explained by a greater efficiency and a better competitiveness of American firms. However, concentration and collusion practices also undoubtedly played a major role in forcing competitors out of the market in order to get a position of national or even international leader. [...]

[...] How did the US gain industrial leadership? Introduction The United States acquired many of its modern characteristics during the 19th century. Among these crucial changes was the shift from an agricultural economy to a position of industrial leader in only a few decades. This transformation is clearly illustrated by Jeremy Atack and Peter Passell in their book A New Economic View of American History: “until the 1880s, agriculture was the chief source of wealth in America. By 1890, the value of manufactures was three times that of agricultural products”[1]. [...]

[...] The Fordism was largely inspired by the “Scientific Management”, also called Taylorism, which was characterized by a double division of labor. The horizontal division of labor consisted in dividing the production process in as many simple tasks as possible, each confided to a specialized worker. The vertical division of labor made a clear distinction between the conception and the execution of the work. Ford reproduced this system in his own company and added a key innovation: the moving assembly line. [...]

[...] 17: Industrial Expansion and concentration Atack and Passell (1994), A New Economic View of American History, Chap. 17: The Changing Structure of American Industry, p Atack and Passell (1994), A New Economic View of American History, Chap. 17: The Changing Structure of American Industry, p Gary M.Walton and Hugh Rockoff (2005), History of the American Economy, Chap.17: Industrial Expansion and Concentration, p Jeremy Atack and Peter Passell (1994), A New Economic View of American History, Chap. 17: The Changing Structure of American Industry, p. [...]