Seminar "The Impact of Railways on the Economy of the Russian Empire at the End of the 19th Century"

Kirill Safonov (University College London) presented a paper titled "The Impact of Railways on the Economy of the Russian Empire in the Late 19th Century" on September 12, 2024. 

Abstract: 

This paper presents an analysis of the economic impact of railway construction on urbanization in the Russian Empire. I compare the actual transport network for 1897 and the economically optimal network built on the basis of the general equilibrium model. The results of the study indicate that railway construction did not have a statistically significant impact on urbanization in the Russian Empire. In turn, the welfare losses from economically non-optimal railway construction in the Russian Empire amounted to about 2.3%, based on the analysis of the general equilibrium model. The report will pay special attention to the historical and economic context of the late Russian Empire, including the development of railways, as well as the search, preparation and processing of large volumes of historical data.

 

The full text of the work and additional materials are available on the speaker’s personal website.