"Automation" of Manufacturing in the Late Nineteenth Century: The Hand and Machine Labor Study
Journal of Economic Perspectives
vol. 33,
no. 2, Spring 2019
(pp. 51-70)
(Complimentary)
Abstract
Recent advances in artificial intelligence and robotics have generated a robust debate about the future of work. An analogous debate occurred in the late nineteenth century when mechanization first transformed manufacturing. We analyze an extraordinary dataset from the late nineteenth century, the Hand and Machine Labor study carried out by the US Department of Labor in the mid-1890s. We focus on transitions at the task level from hand to machine production, and on the impact of inanimate power, especially of steam power, on labor productivity. Our analysis sheds light on the ability of modern task-based models to account for the effects of historical mechanization.Citation
Atack, Jeremy, Robert A. Margo, and Paul W. Rhode. 2019. ""Automation" of Manufacturing in the Late Nineteenth Century: The Hand and Machine Labor Study." Journal of Economic Perspectives, 33 (2): 51-70. DOI: 10.1257/jep.33.2.51Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- D24 Production; Cost; Capital; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity; Capacity
- J23 Labor Demand
- J24 Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
- L23 Organization of Production
- M11 Production Management
- N31 Economic History: Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy: U.S.; Canada: Pre-1913
- N61 Economic History: Manufacturing and Construction: U.S.; Canada: Pre-1913
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