If it's true that Wayne Booth inspired Deirdre McCloskey's interest in the study of rhetoric, then it's also true — happily, in my view — that McCloskey has refused to mimic Booth's programmatic, formulaic methods and boorish insistence on prosaic succinctness. Bourgeois Equality is...

During the Industrial Revolution technological progress and innovation became the main drivers of economic growth. But why was Britain the technological leader? We argue that one hitherto little recognized British advantage was the supply of highly skilled, mechanically able craftsmen who were...

This paper investigates labor productivity growth and the contribution to labor productivity growth in Swedish manufacturing during electrification and the ICT revolution. The paper distinguishes between technology-producing, intensive and less intensive technology - using industries during...

"Japanese Industrial History: Technology, Urbanization, and Economic Growth" provides a detailed examination of the industrial development of the country since the Meiji Restoration and shows the extent to which Japan's own urbanization played a crucial role in its overall economic development....

The expansion in the supply of energy services over the last couple of centuries has reduced the apparent importance of energy in economic growth despite energy being an essential production input. We demonstrate this by developing a simple extension of the Solow growth model, which we use to...

Over the course of a quarter of a millennium industrial capitalism has emerged from four deep recessions brought on by the bursting of commodity bubbles to achieve sustained economic growth by instituting progressive policies. These policies promote market success by reinforce entrepreneurial...

This study consists of an examination of productivity growth following three major technological breakthroughs: the steam power revolution, electrification and the ICT revolution. The distinction between sectors producing and sectors using the new technology is emphasized. A major finding for...

Chapter 1. Introduction -- Part I. The Drive for Development -- Chapter 2. Enter local control -- Chapter 3. The force unleashed -- Part II. The Growth Mechanism -- Chapter 4. Hardware and software -- Chapter 5. Mechanization, automation and the labor market -- Chapter 6. Scale of operations --...