LONG WAVES IN BUILDING IN THE BRITISH ECONOMY OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY
How good is the evidence for long waves of building activity in Great Britain and the U.S.A. during the nineteenth century? Can such fluctuations be seen clearly in data for the whole period? Or are they evident only in the latter part? And is the picture the same for both countries in this respect? Lastly, how are we to explain the inverse relationship — during at least part of the century — of the waves of activity in building the two countries ? The answers to these questions will obviously help to determine our explanation of long waves in building activity. More broadly, they will also influence our ideas about the relationship between the developing economies of the two countries since building accounted for a large part of domestic fixed investment at a time when Britain was exporting increasing amounts of capital and the U.S.A. was a large importer.