Institutional Innovation and the Adoption of New Technologies: The Case of Steam

Thor Berger and Vinzent Ostermeyer

No 19530, CEPR Discussion Papers from Centre for Economic Policy Research

Abstract: This paper documents how the advent of the limited liability corporation contributed to the diffusion of steam technology during Sweden’s industrialization. Using longitudinal establishment-level data, we show that incorporation sharply raised the probability that industrial establishments adopted steam. Incorporation facilitated technology adoption partly by enabling smaller establishments to expand to a greater scale where the use of steam became feasible. These results highlight that low barriers to incorporation may be an important lever to facilitate the diffusion of new technologies.

Keywords: Industrialization; Technology adoption; Steam engine (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D22 L25 O14 O33 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024-09
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