A General Purpose Technology at Work: The Corliss Steam Engine in the late 19th Century US

Nathan Rosenberg and Manuel Trajtenberg

Working Papers from Tel Aviv

Abstract: The steam engine is widely regarded as the icon of the Industrial Revolution and a prime example of a “General Purpose Technology,” and yet its contribution to growth is far from transparent. This paper examines the role that a particular innovative design in steam power, the Corliss engine, played in the intertwined processes of industrialization and urbanization that characterized the growth of the US economy in the late 19th century.

Keywords: TECHNOLOGY; WATER POWER; INNOVATIONS (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: N11 N61 O18 O40 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 67 pages
Date: 2001
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (22)

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Working Paper: A General Purpose Technology at Work: The Corliss Steam Engine in the Late 19th Century (2001)
Working Paper: A General Purpose Technology at Work: The Corliss Steam Engine in the late 19th Century US (2001)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:fth:teavfo:2001-27

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