Late developing countries are able to adopt best practice technologies pioneered abroad, allowing more rapid convergence toward leading economies. Meiji Japan (1868-­-1912) is considered a successful example of industrial convergence, but much of the evidence relies on national aggregates or selected industries. Using historical industry data, this paper examines whether Japan adopted new technologies faster compared to the United States. Contrary to conventional wisdom, duration analysis indicates that new sectors did not appear relatively sooner in Japan; however, they did grow to economic significance faster. Higher firm capitalization and capital intensity are also associated with earlier entry for Japanese sectors.

中文翻译：

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两个 SIC 的故事：历史视角下的日本和美国工业化

后发国家能够采用国外首创的最佳实践技术，从而更快地向领先经济体融合。日本明治（1868--1912）被认为是产业融合的成功范例，但大部分证据依赖于国家总量或选定的产业。本文使用历史行业数据来检验日本是否比美国更快地采用新技术。与传统观点相反，久期分析表明日本的新部门并没有相对较早地出现；然而，它们确实更快地增长为经济意义。较高的企业资本化和资本密集度也与日本行业较早进入有关。