Full Citation

Title: Portage: Path Dependence and Increasing Returns in U.S. History

Citation Type: Working Paper

Publication Year: 2010

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Abstract: We examine portage sites in the U.S. South, Mid-Atlantic, and Midwest, including those on the fall line, a geomorphologic feature in the southeastern U.S. marking the final rapids on rivers before the ocean. Historically, waterborne transport of goods required portage around the falls at these points, while some falls provided water power during early industrialization. These factors attracted commerce and manufacturing. Although these original advantages have long since been made obsolete, we document the continuingand even increasingimportance of these portage sites over time. We interpret this finding in a model with path dependence arising from local increasing returns to scale.

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Authors: Bleakley, Hoyt; Lin, Jeffery

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Publication Number: w16314

Institution: National Bureau of Economic Research

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Publisher Location: Cambridge, MA

Data Collections: IPUMS NHGIS

Topics: Migration and Immigration, Other, Poverty and Welfare

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