Read the article âA Quantitative Approach to the Study of Railroads in American Economic Growth: A Report of Some Preliminary Findingsâ by Robert W. Fogel (1962). Then answer following questions.
1. Concisely describe the viewpoint that Fogel is responding to with this article.
2. Summarize the reasoning and/or evidence that has been offered to support this viewpoint.
3. According to Fogel, what is the most important problem with this viewpoint? Quote one or more sentences from the article to support your answer.
4. On the first page of the article Fogel provides a quote from Morris Raphael Cohen. Explain the relevance of this quote to the article.
5. On p. 170 Fogel writes æhis difference is in fact larger than what the true social saving would have been.� Explain what this means and why it is an important point to make.
6. In this article Fogel only looks at data from one year (1890). How does he justify drawing conclusions about a much longer time period (1850-1890) from data from just one year?
7. Was it cheaper to transport freight by rail or by water? Explain. (Hint: This is not a one-word answer.)
8. On page 193 Fogel explains that longer transport times require traders to carry larger inventories (so that they can maintain a constant supply in between deliveries). Therefore longer transportation times imply a larger stock of inventories, on average. As Fogel notes on page 194, water routes were closed for five months out of the year, while rail routes were open all year round. Yet when comparing water vs. rail transportation for agricultural commodities, he claims that this fact is irrelevant to the amount of inventories held on average (æhe limited season of navigation would least with respect to grainsæ¢ave had no effect on the inventory requirements of the nation.�) According to Fogel, why is this the case?
Read the article âA Quantitative Approach to the Study of Railroads in American Economic Growth: A Report of Some Preliminary Findingsâ by Robert W. Fogel (1962). Then answer following questions.
1. Concisely describe the viewpoint that Fogel is responding to with this article.
2. Summarize the reasoning and/or evidence that has been offered to support this viewpoint.
3. According to Fogel, what is the most important problem with this viewpoint? Quote one or more sentences from the article to support your answer.
4. On the first page of the article Fogel provides a quote from Morris Raphael Cohen. Explain the relevance of this quote to the article.
5. On p. 170 Fogel writes æhis difference is in fact larger than what the true social saving would have been.� Explain what this means and why it is an important point to make.
6. In this article Fogel only looks at data from one year (1890). How does he justify drawing conclusions about a much longer time period (1850-1890) from data from just one year?
7. Was it cheaper to transport freight by rail or by water? Explain. (Hint: This is not a one-word answer.)
8. On page 193 Fogel explains that longer transport times require traders to carry larger inventories (so that they can maintain a constant supply in between deliveries). Therefore longer transportation times imply a larger stock of inventories, on average. As Fogel notes on page 194, water routes were closed for five months out of the year, while rail routes were open all year round. Yet when comparing water vs. rail transportation for agricultural commodities, he claims that this fact is irrelevant to the amount of inventories held on average (æhe limited season of navigation would least with respect to grainsæ¢ave had no effect on the inventory requirements of the nation.�) According to Fogel, why is this the case?
