This thesis examines industrial development in early 19th century France, a period of momentous sea-change often referred to as the ‘Age of Revolution’. A novel dataset makes it possible to examine key sectors of the economy as they developed from rural cottage industries into modern, factory-based production units. The Napoleonic Blockade against British trade (1803-1815) provides within country, exogenous variation in trade protection from the industrial leader, Britain. In the first chapter, “The Spatial Dynamics of Structural Transformation in France”, I present the new dataset and document some spatial patterns which seem to comove with the switch to modern technology. I find that the time period was disruptive to the existing spatial structure of the economy, at least for the modernising sectors which I observe. The second chapter, “Temporary Protection and Technology Adoption: Evidence from the Napoleonic Blockade”, uses an exogenous shock to trade protection, driven by the Napoleonic Blockade against British trade, to assess whether temporary protection from trade with industrial leaders can foster development of infant industries in follower countries. I show that in the short-run, regions (départements) in the French Empire which became better protected from trade with the British increased capacity in mechanised cotton spinning to a larger extent than regions which remained more exposed to trade. Moreover, temporary protection affected the long-term location of mechanised cotton spinning in France. The third chapter, “Inter-Industry Linkages: The Indirect Effects of the Napoleonic Blockade” explores the wider implications of the exogenous shock to trade protection. Using variation in the location of post-blockade mechanised cotton spinning caused by the trade shock, I find evidence of coagglomeration for technologically proximate spinning sectors. The effects do not seem to be driven by input-output linkages, suggesting a role for technology spillovers or labour market pooling.

Cette recherche doctorale s’intéresse aux réseaux d’entreprises dans le contexte spécifique de villes moyennes périphériques. En s’appuyant sur les résultats d’une enquête de terrain auprès de dirigeants d’entreprises innovantes et performantes de Bretagne Sud, la recherche a pu mettre en évidence les ressources territoriales issues des réseaux sociaux. Le fait d’être implanté dans un territoire non métropolitain ne semble pas être un obstacle à l’insertion dans les réseaux de dirigeants, y compris lorsque leurs entreprises sont mondialisées. Pluridisciplinaire, cette recherche a nécessité de mobiliser les théories de la métropolisation afin d’appréhender le contexte de villes moyennes périphériques et leurs opportunités de développement. En outre, les mécanismes qui sous-tendent le fonctionnement réticulaire des entreprises ont été interprétés à la lumière de la sociologie des réseaux et des théories de la science de gestion liées au comportement des chefs d’entreprise.La nature partenariale des travaux, réalisés en collaboration avec les trois agences de développement économique de Bretagne Sud, a conduit à formuler une série de préconisations à destination des décideurs et opérateurs locaux. A ce titre, la mise en place d’une politique publique de réseau constitue une voie à explorer dans le cadre d’un renouvellement des approches du développement territorial. / This doctoral dissertation focuses on business networks in the specific context of peripheral medium sized cities. Based on a field survey of entrepreneurs from Southern Brittany, this research highlights resources provided by business networks. Being located in a non-metropolitan territory does not seem to be a barrier to participation in networks, even for globalized and innovative firms. This multidisciplinary work also mobilises metropolization theories to address the particular geographical context of peripheral, medium-sized cities and assess their territorial development opportunities. Furthermore, the mechanisms underlying the network functioning of the firms have been interpreted using network sociology and management science literature on business leaders’ behaviour. The partnership framework with three local development agencies has led to make practical proposals targeting local political decision-makers and stakeholders. Thus, implementing a network-based public policy could be an interesting path in order to come up with a new local development approach.