North America

doi:10.1017/9781316671603.002

1 - North America

The Rise of US Technological and Economic Leadership

from Part I - Regional Developments

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 03 June 2021

Paul W. Rhode

Edited by

Stephen Broadberry and

Kyoji Fukao

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Stephen Broadberry: Affiliation:
University of Oxford
Kyoji Fukao: Affiliation:
Hitotsubashi University, Tokyo

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Summary

This chapter traces three grand transformations of the North American economy. The first process – the shift from a rural agricultural economy to an urban industrial economy and the emergence of ‘modern economic growth’ – began before 1870. The second process – the shift from growth based on increasing factors of production per person to growth based on enhancing the productivity of the factors – began at the turn of the twentieth century. It was tied to the emergence of the United States as a global economic leader. The third process – the shift from an internally focused industrial economy to a globally integrated, information-based economy – began after 1970. Focusing on these transformations complicates the story of balanced growth common in macro-growth accounts, but is crucial for our understanding of the growth of the North American economy.

Keywords

Economic growth capital formation structural transformation industrial revolutions information economy.

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Type: Chapter
Information: The Cambridge Economic History of the Modern World , pp. 21 - 47

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316671603.002 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2021

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