Factor Price Convergence in the Late Nineteenth Century

The authors examine a dramatic historical episode of factor price convergence in the late nineteenth century. Their focus is convergence between Old World and New, and the analysis centers on land and labor. Wage-rental ratios boomed in the Old World and collapsed in the New, moving the resource-rich, labor-scarce New World closer to the resource-scarce, labor-abundant Old World. The authors use econometrics and simulations to identify proconvergence forces, which include commodity price convergence, factor accumulation, and factor-saving biases. The results confirm that open-economy characteristics and international market integration are important sources of convergence.