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This article assesses train speeds in England and Wales 1843-1912. Trains were fast compared with coaches or walking, and the social saving of time saved grew over time to become over 10 percent of national income in 1912. Including fare savings as well, social savings were 14 percent of national income in 1912, with consumer surplus of 6 percent. Time savings dominated fare savings once railways became a new good: travel for the masses. Using the social savings-total factor productivity identity, we show that railways accounted for around a sixth of economy-wide productivity growth in this era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reexamines theories previously advanced to explain slow adoption of ring spinning in Lancashire, England. Survey of the literature on the slow adoption of ring spinning; Insufficiency of the standard dichotomy between vertically integrated and vertically specialized firms; Conclusions.

Presents a summary of a dissertation which focused on performance and technological choice of the largest cotton industries throughout the world prior to World War I. Installation of mule spinners by Lancashire firms; Analysis of the effect of transport costs on the choice of technology in Lancashire; Use of the direct level earning and employment data of the 1906 Enquiry to estimate a logistic regression model.

Presents abstracts of the article "Transport Improvements, Agglomeration Economies and City Productivity: From When Did Transport Improvements Raise British Wages?" by Nicholas Crafts, and Timothy Leunig.