Business Failures by Industry in the United States, 1895 to 1940: A Statistical History

Dun's Review began publishing monthly data on business failures by branch of business during the 1890s. At that time, a business failure was defined as a concern which was involved in a court proceeding or voluntary action which was likely to end in loss to creditors. Liabilities of failed businesses were defined "as all liabilities except long-term publicly-held obligations, chiefly bonds." Dun's published data on failures by branch of business from 1895 through 1935. This dataset reconstructs that series and links it to its successors. The successor series include data on business failures by division of industry, which Dun and Bradstreet's published from 1934 through 1940. This study includes six parts. Part One contains aggregate liabilities in dollars, broken down by branch, month, and year. Part Two contains aggregate numbers of business failures broken down by branch, month, and year. Part Three contains aggregate liability in dollars broken down by division, month, and year. Part Four contains aggregate numbers of business failures broken down by division, month, and year. Part Five contains aggregate liabilities broken down by sector, month, and year. Part Six contains aggregate numbers of business failures broken down by sector, month, and year. Part One and Part Two contain 36 variables and 562 cases. Part Three and Part Four contain 51 variables and 60 cases. Part Five and Part Six contain 6 variables and 562 cases.