Capital Destruction and Economic Growth: The Effects of Sherman's March, 1850-1920

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Feigenbaum, James; Lee, James; Mezzanotti, Filippo
• 署名单位: Boston University; Northwestern University
• 刊物名称: AMERICAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL-APPLIED ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1945-7782
• DOI: 10.1257/app.20200397
• 发表日期: 2022
• 页码: 301-342
• 关键词: civil-war; southern agriculture; automated linking; UNITED-STATES; IMPACT; banking; origins; credit; long; marriage

摘要

Using General Sherman's March through Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina during the Civil War, we study the effect of capital destruction on medium-and long-run local economic activ-ity, and the role of financial markets in recovery. We show that the march's capital destruction led to a large contraction in agricul-tural investment, farming asset prices, and manufacturing activ-ity compared to neighboring counties. Elements of the decline in agriculture persisted through 1920. Exploiting variation in local access to antebellum credit, we argue that the underdevelop-ment of financial markets played a role in weakening the recovery. (JEL N21, N51, N52, N61, N91, N92, Q10)