Clark (1985)

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Theory Questions:

What is the research question?

The article attempts to answer the question: "Why were New England cotton textile workers so much more productive than similar workers in the rest of the world?"

What is the author's hypothesis?

The author believes that local culture explains the difference and that differences in technology, management, worker training and inherent worker ability do not satisfy as explanations.

How does the author test the hypothesis?

The author never directly tests the hypothesis, but goes about "proving" his case by examining and disproving a thorough set of alternative hypotheses.

How does the author rule out alternative hypotheses?

How might these tests be run if one had quantitative evidence?

What problems might arise in this quantitative analysis?

Empirical Questions:

What's the author's hypothesis?

How it is tested?

What do the tests achieve?

How could the tests be improved?

What are the tests' strengths and weaknesses?

Can you think of any alternative empirical tests?