During its early and formative years, the U.S. tire industry was heavily concentrated around Akron, Ohio. We test the extent to which entrants in Ohio were attracted to the Akron area by agglomeration benefits, contributing to a self-reinforcing process envisioned in many modern theories of...

We use new data on the location and background of entrants into the U.S. tire industry to analyze the factors that caused the industry to be so regionally concentrated around Akron, Ohio, a small city with no particular advantages for tire production. We analyze the states where firms entered...

Beginning in 1922, the rate of exit of U.S. tire producers increased sharply and the industry began a severe and protracted shakeout. Just five years earlier, the tire industry experienced a surge in entry that led to a rise of over 80% in the number of producers. We propose an explanation for...

Beginning in 1922, the rate of exit of US tire producers increased sharply and the industry began a severe and protracted shakeout. Just 5 years earlier, the tire industry experienced a surge in entry that led to a rise of over 80% in the number of producers. We propose an explanation for this...

We use new data on the location and background of entrants into the U.S. tire industry to analyze the factors that caused the industry to be so regionally concentrated around Akron, Ohio, a small city with no particular advantages for tire production. We analyze the states where firms entered...

We trace the geographic and intellectual heritage of the early entrants into the US tire industry in Ohio, the industry's historical center. We test a model in which the supply of capable entrants, localized knowledge, and production externalities influence where entrants originated and located....

We use new data on the location and background of entrants into the US tyre industry to analyse why the industry became so regionally concentrated around Akron, Ohio, a small city with no compelling advantages for tyre production. We analyse where the Ohio entrants originated and conduct various...