The Introduction of Electric Power in American Manufacturing

Uncertainty and Technological Change

“…The historical experience with respect to the introduction of electricity offers many earlier parallels. If we date the beginning of the electric age in the early 1880s (dynamos), it was fully 40 years--into the 1920s--before the electrification of factories began to show up in terms of significant measured productivity growth (Du Boff 1967;Devine 1983;Schurr 1990).…”

Parallel Development? Productivity Growth Following Electrification and the ICT Revolution

“…According to Du Boff (1979), the capacity utilization of electric motors was lower as compared to steam engines. The decentralization process following electrification meant that a few steam engines would be replaced by tens or hundreds of electric motors, each powering an individual machine.…”

“…10 This measure of electric motor intensity cannot be used for the US economy before 1939. The reason is that there are no estimates of driving generators available for this period (Du Boff 1979). The US data distinguish between primary electric motors and secondary electric motors.…”

“…Primary electric motors are driven by electricity purchased from utilities outside the manufacturing plant, secondary electric motors are driven by electricity from generators and prime movers within the plant itself. However, the relationship between secondary electric motors and driving generator is difficult to establish and can vary between different industries (Du Boff 1979). 11 The capacity of electric motors was also reported in 1896, but not for the period 1896-1905.…”

“…This measure provides a very good indication of the intensity of electric motors used in each industry. Productivity estimates for manufacturing during electrification are based on data of production value and the number of persons employed provided by Kommerskollegium 7 Primary power is the power produced by prime movers that utilize the potential energy of nature and directly convert it into energy of motion (Du Boff 1979). 8 In this paper, power capacity is measured in horsepower, where one unit is equivalent to a rate of 550 foot-pounds per second.…”