What became the fastest growing industry in the United States during the 1950s?
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This is a preview. Log in to get access Show Abstract This article briefly reviews the core literature on the Golden Age of economic growth and tests the explanatory power of alternative theories against one another, with particular emphasis on the reconstruction thesis as developed by Jánossy. While previous empirical work on the subject relied on cross-sectional analysis, I employ panel-data techniques, which produce more robust estimates. I demonstrate that, for the core western industrialised nations, the rapidity and variety of economic growth during the 1950s and 1960s can mostly be explained by post-war reconstruction, the completion of which marked the end of the Golden Age. Labour-force expansion also made a very strong positive contribution. In the more peripheral countries of the OECD, however, rapid catching-up from the late 1950s was largely brought about by structural modernisation. Finally, human-capital accumulation has had a determining impact on long-run growth potentials, modelled here as time-constant country-fixed effects. Journal Information The European Review of Economic History is a major outlet for research in economic history. Articles cover the whole range of economic history -- papers on European, non-European, comparative and world economic history are all welcome. Contributions shed new light on existing debates, raise new or previously neglected topics, and provide fresh perspectives from comparative research. The Review includes full-length articles, shorter articles, notes and comments, debates, survey articles, and review articles. It also publishes notes and announcements from the European Historical Economics Society. Publisher Information Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University's objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide. OUP is the world's largest university press with the widest global presence. It currently publishes more than 6,000 new publications a year, has offices in around fifty countries, and employs more than 5,500 people worldwide. It has become familiar to millions through a diverse publishing program that includes scholarly works in all academic disciplines, bibles, music, school and college textbooks, business books, dictionaries and reference books, and academic journals. Rights & Usage This item is part of a JSTOR Collection.
Decoding the Evolution of the U.S. Industry from 1950 to 2020IBISWorld’s Media Center recently released an insightful article detailing significant shifts in the U.S. industry over the past sixty years (IBISWorld Inc., The Evolution of US Industry). The U.S. economy is now a heavily service-based economy with noticeable increases in the areas of healthcare, social assistance and retail. It’s worth noting that IBISWorld’s initial chart data is somewhat confusing due its presentation based on percentage of GDP, not total economic revenue generated per industry. While the overall U.S. GDP (gross domestic product) has increased during this period from around $1.5T to nearly $18T, the chart data are based on percentage of Value Added Share, not actual GDP. Tracking Value Added Share of GDP through the years In the postwar climate of the 1950s, the U.S. economy experienced virtually no competition from a depleted European market. This led to a manufacturing boom that quickly established the U.S. as the world leader in construction materials, including steel and iron. Three key factors of deregulation, increased foreign competition and outsourcing signaled the end for manufacturing’s enormous success and its economy share dropped from 29.7% to 13.5% from 1960 to 2010 (IBISWorld Inc., The Evolution of US Industry). The U.S. economy’s evolution over the past two decades shifted from the manufacturing industries to the service-based industries. Non-service sectors contain economies of scale, which require substantial infrastructure to maintain profitable stateside operations. Technology alone is affecting tertiary industries more than ever, with financial, technical, professional, insurance and real estate services relying on the latest technological advances in everyday business. API, mobile marketing and social media are all being leveraged for better service to satisfy the customers of today. Economies of scale in response in the U.S. Industry Economies of scale in non-service sectors also are necessary to maintain an ever-growing economy. The highly lucrative economic climate of the 90s and early 2000s created enough critical mass to warrant economies of scale in many non-service sectors. What is interesting is that, for the most part, there are no economies of scale in accommodations or food, which generally follow population growth. The U.S. service sector is projected to generate over nine million jobs from 2010 through 2015. This represents 85% of all new positions during this five-year span. As more baby boomers live longer, the service-industry demand on healthcare is expected to be the fastest growing segment of the U.S. economy. This evolution in U.S. industry growth will be worth tracking as service-based sectors gain more of the lion’s share of the economy leading into 2020.
Share This Story. Choose Your Platform!Related PostsWhat was the major industry of the US in the 1950s?In the postwar climate of the 1950s, the U.S. economy experienced virtually no competition from a depleted European market. This led to a manufacturing boom that quickly established the U.S. as the world leader in construction materials, including steel and iron.
Why was the economy booming in the 1950s?Eisenhower's combination of low taxes, balanced budgets, and public spending allowed the economy to prosper. The economy overall grew by 37% during the 1950s and unemployment remained low, about 4.5%. At the end of the decade, the median American family had 30% more purchasing power than at the beginning.
What was one major cause of the prosperity of the 1950s?One important cause was government spending, which was clearly the major factor in ending the Depression in the early 1940s. Government expenditures in 1929 were 1 percent of GNP; in 1955, they were 17 percent. The bulk of this increase in the early 1950s came from military spending until the end of the Korean War.
How was the US economy in the 1950s and 1960s?The 1950s and 1960s often stand out in people's minds and have been described as the “Golden Age of American Capitalism.” Blue-collar jobs were plentiful, well-paid, and respected; the middle class was huge; inequality was low; and the US economy was growing at breakneck speed.
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