Portage and Path Dependence.
Portage and Path Dependence.
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DOI：
10.1093/qje/qjs011
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发表时间：
2012-05
期刊：
影响因子：
--
通讯作者：
Lin J
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Bleakley H;Lin J
我们研究了美国南部、大西洋中部和中西部的港口地点，包括秋季线上的港口地点，秋季线是美国东南部的一种地貌特征，标志着海洋之前河流上的最后急流。在历史上，水路货物运输需要在这些点上绕过瀑布，而在工业化早期，一些瀑布提供了水力。这些因素吸引了商业和制造业。虽然这些最初的优势早已过时，但随着时间的推移，我们证明了这些港口遗址的持续重要性。我们将这些结果解释为基于沉没成本与规模收益递减和递增相互作用的路径依赖和对比解释。
We examine portage sites in the U.S. South, Mid-Atlantic, and Midwest, including those on the fall line, a geomorphological 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 continuing importance of these portage sites over time. We interpret these results as path dependence and contrast explanations based on sunk costs interacting with decreasing versus increasing returns to scale.