TY  - JOUR
AU  - Davis,Joseph H.
AU  - Irwin,Douglas A.
TI  - The Antebellum U.S. Iron Industry: Domestic Production and Foreign Competition
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 13451
PY  - 2007
Y2  - September 2007
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w13451
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w13451.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Joseph Davis
The Vanguard Group
P.O. Box 2600, MS V13
Valley Forge, PA 19482-2600
Tel: 610/669-6725
E-Mail: joseph_davis@vanguard.com

Douglas A. Irwin
Department of Economics
Dartmouth College
Hanover, NH  03755
Tel: 603/646-2942
Fax: 603/646-2122
E-Mail: douglas.irwin@dartmouth.edu
AB  - This paper presents new annual estimates of U.S. production of pig iron and imports of pig iron products dating back to 1827.  These estimates are used to assess the vulnerability of the antebellum iron industry to foreign competition and the role of the tariff in fostering the industry's early development.  Domestic pig iron production is found to be highly sensitive to changes in import prices.  Although import price fluctuations had a much greater impact on U.S. production than changes in import duties, our estimates suggest that the tariff permitted domestic output to be about thirty to forty percent larger than it would have been without protection.
ER  -