Digitizing Carroll D. Wright’s “Hand and Machine Labor” Study

We describe our digitization of a uniquely detailed study of 19th century production methods assembled by the United States Department of Labor (1899). The staff spent five years collecting and assembling data on the production of hundreds of highly specific products (as well as some services) at th...

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Main Authors: Atack Jeremy, A. Margo Robert, W. Rhode Paul
Format: Article
Language:deu
Published: De Gruyter 2023-05-01
Series:Jahrbuch für Wirtschaftsgeschichte
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1515/jbwg-2023-0002
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author Atack Jeremy
A. Margo Robert
W. Rhode Paul
author_facet Atack Jeremy
A. Margo Robert
W. Rhode Paul
author_sort Atack Jeremy
collection DOAJ
description We describe our digitization of a uniquely detailed study of 19th century production methods assembled by the United States Department of Labor (1899). The staff spent five years collecting and assembling data on the production of hundreds of highly specific products (as well as some services) at the production operations level using traditional artisanal (“hand”) methods and by the (then) most modern “machine” methods, measuring productivity in terms of the time taken to complete a specific task or set of tasks. The data proved too complex and voluminous to use, except as a source of anecdotes, until now. We describe how we have made these invaluable data from the first industrial revolution tractable to modern analysis and how they might be used to provide insight and perspective into the effects of robotics and artificial intelligence on labor during the third industrial revolution.
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spelling doaj.art-aac8fed0410444b085ead44cdbd3df382024-03-25T07:28:55ZdeuDe GruyterJahrbuch für Wirtschaftsgeschichte0075-28002196-68422023-05-0164193010.1515/jbwg-2023-0002Digitizing Carroll D. Wright’s “Hand and Machine Labor” StudyAtack Jeremy0A. Margo Robert1W. Rhode Paul2Department of Economics, Box 351819 Station B, 2301 Vanderbilt Place, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN. 37235, USADepartment of Economics, Boston University, 270 Bay State Road Room 311,Boston MA02215-1403USADepartment of Economics, University of Michigan, 611 Tappan Ave, 205Lorch Hall Ann Arbor, MI48109-1220, USAWe describe our digitization of a uniquely detailed study of 19th century production methods assembled by the United States Department of Labor (1899). The staff spent five years collecting and assembling data on the production of hundreds of highly specific products (as well as some services) at the production operations level using traditional artisanal (“hand”) methods and by the (then) most modern “machine” methods, measuring productivity in terms of the time taken to complete a specific task or set of tasks. The data proved too complex and voluminous to use, except as a source of anecdotes, until now. We describe how we have made these invaluable data from the first industrial revolution tractable to modern analysis and how they might be used to provide insight and perspective into the effects of robotics and artificial intelligence on labor during the third industrial revolution.https://doi.org/10.1515/jbwg-2023-0002keywords: automationmechanizationsteam powerhand labormachine laborpdfocrgerunddeskillingautomationmechanisierungdampfkrafthandarbeitmaschinenarbeitgerundiumdequalifizierungn 03n 06n 08j 03
spellingShingle Atack Jeremy
A. Margo Robert
W. Rhode Paul
Digitizing Carroll D. Wright’s “Hand and Machine Labor” Study
Jahrbuch für Wirtschaftsgeschichte
keywords: automation
mechanization
steam power
hand labor
machine labor
pdf
ocr
gerund
deskilling
automation
mechanisierung
dampfkraft
handarbeit
maschinenarbeit
gerundium
dequalifizierung
n 03
n 06
n 08
j 03
title Digitizing Carroll D. Wright’s “Hand and Machine Labor” Study
title_full Digitizing Carroll D. Wright’s “Hand and Machine Labor” Study
title_fullStr Digitizing Carroll D. Wright’s “Hand and Machine Labor” Study
title_full_unstemmed Digitizing Carroll D. Wright’s “Hand and Machine Labor” Study
title_short Digitizing Carroll D. Wright’s “Hand and Machine Labor” Study
title_sort digitizing carroll d wright s hand and machine labor study
topic keywords: automation
mechanization
steam power
hand labor
machine labor
pdf
ocr
gerund
deskilling
automation
mechanisierung
dampfkraft
handarbeit
maschinenarbeit
gerundium
dequalifizierung
n 03
n 06
n 08
j 03
url https://doi.org/10.1515/jbwg-2023-0002
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