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The Demand for Consumer Durables in the United Kingdom in the Interwar Period

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 March 2009

Sue Bowden  and
Paul Turner
Sue Bowden
Affiliation:
Department of Business and Economic Studies, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, United Kingdom.
Paul Turner
Affiliation:
Department of Business and Economic Studies, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, United Kingdom.
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Abstract

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Distinct diffusion curves are identified by model type and significant differences in regional motor car ownership in the interwar U.K. economy. We assess the viability of applying mass production strategies such as Ford and General Motors pursued in America. Given the demand-side constraints present in the U.K. market, the price reductions made possible by the exploitation of economies of scale were insufficient to create a mass market. Hence, the relatively low levels of ownership achieved can be seen as a rational response to the constraints perceived by firms.

Type
Papers Presented at the Fifty-Second Annual Meeting of the Economic History Association
Information
The Journal of Economic History , Volume 53 , Issue 2 , June 1993 , pp. 244 - 258
Copyright
Copyright © The Economic History Association 1993

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