General Purpose Technologies and the Industrial Revolution

Leonard Dudley

Papers on Economics and Evolution from Philipps University Marburg, Department of Geography

Abstract: Did breakthroughs in core processes during the Industrial Revolution tend to generate further innovations in downstream technologies? Here a theoretical model examines the effect of a political shock on a non-innovating society in which there is high potential willingness to cooperate. The result is regional specialization in the innovation process by degree of cooperation. tests with a zero-inflated Poisson specification indicate that 116 important innovations between 1700 and 1849 may be grouped into three categories: (1) General Purpose Technologies (GPTs) tended to be generated in large states with standardized languages following transition to pluralistic political systems; (2) GPTs in turn generated spillovers for their regions in technologies where cooperation was necessary to integrate distinct fields of expertise; (3) however, GPTs discouraged downstream innovation in their regions where such direct cooperation was not required.

Keywords: General Purpose Technologies; Industrial Revolution; innovation; cooperation; spillovers Length 38 pages (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: N6 O3 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2010-04
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-his, nep-ino, nep-ipr and nep-pr~
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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