In pursuit of Leviathan : technology, institutions, productivity, and profits in American whaling, 1816-1906
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
In pursuit of Leviathan : technology, institutions, productivity, and profits in American whaling, 1816-1906
（NBER series on long-term factors in economic development / editors, Robert W. Fogel and Clayne L. Pope）
University of Chicago Press, 1997
Available at 27 libraries
Note
Includes bibliographical references (p. 523-538) and indexes
Description and Table of Contents
Description
This study traces the American whaling industry from its rise in the 1840s to its precipitous fall at the end of the 19th century. It uses detailed and comprehensive data to describe more than 4000 whaling voyages from New Bedford, Massachusetts, and explores the market for whale products, crew quality and labour contracts, and whale biology and distribution. It also assesses the productivity of the American fleet, and examines the new whaling techniques developed at the end of the 19th century. Despite the common belief that the whaling industry declined due to a fall in whale stocks, the authors argue that the industry's collapse was related to changes in technology and market conditions.
Table of Contents
Preface 1: In Prospect 2: Whales and Whaling 3: Data Sets and Sources 4: Natural Resources 5: Labor 6: Capital 7: Technology 8: Productivity 9: Product Markets 10: Agents, Captains, and Owners 11: Profits 12: The Americans Replace the British 13: Modern Whaling 14: In Retrospect References Name Index Subject Index
by "Nielsen BookData"