Technical Progress and British Enterprise, 1875–1914

Derek H. Aldcroft and Harry W. Richardson
Additional contact information
Derek H. Aldcroft: University of Leicester
Harry W. Richardson: University of Kent

Chapter 4 in The British Economy 1870–1939, 1969, pp 168-189 from Palgrave Macmillan

Abstract: Abstract Several attempts have now been made to chart and explain the retardation in British growth rates in the latter part of the nineteenth century. Statistics relating to the growth of national income, exports and industrial productivity all show a distinct tendency to decelerate in this period. The growth rates in this country compare unfavourably with those registered abroad especially in America and Germany. Perhaps the most alarming feature was the lag in British manufacturing productivity; the rate of growth of output per worker fell continuously throughout this period.1To explain the poor performance of British growth indices the unprogressive nature of British entrepreneurs during the years in question has been sometimes cited. Much evidence has also been produced to show that British industrialists were technically far less dynamic than their major competitors. In particular, it has been alleged that they failed or were slow to adopt cost-reducing innovations or new methods of production and selling and that they were reluctant to acknowledge the value of technical education and scientific research.2 How far these deficiencies were responsible for the lag in British growth rates is difficult to determine Obviously there is a strong connection between the two since technical progress (in the widest sense of the term) is, in the long run, one of the main determinants of growth.

Keywords: Nineteenth Century; Technical Progress; Early Start; Factor Supply; British Economy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1969
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pal:palchp:978-1-349-15346-6_7

Ordering information: This item can be ordered from
http://www.palgrave.com/9781349153466

DOI: 10.1007/978-1-349-15346-6_7

Access Statistics for this chapter

More chapters in Palgrave Macmillan Books from Palgrave Macmillan
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().