Working Paper: NBER ID: w20853
Authors: B. Zorina Khan
Abstract: Endogenous growth models raise fundamental questions about the nature of human creativity, and the sorts of resources, skills, and knowledge inputs that shift the frontier of technology and production possibilities. Many argue that the nature of early British industrialization supports the thesis that economic advances depend on specialized scientific training or the acquisition of costly human capital. This paper examines the contributions of different types of knowledge to British industrialization, by assessing the backgrounds, education and inventive activity of the major contributors to technological advances in Britain during the crucial period between 1750 and 1930. The results indicate that scientists, engineers or technicians were not well-represented among the British great inventors until very late in the nineteenth century. Instead, important discoveries and British industrial advances were achieved by individuals who exercised commonplace skills and entrepreneurial abilities to resolve perceived industrial problems. For developing countries today, the implications are that costly investments in specialized human capital resources might be less important than incentives for creativity, flexibility, and the ability to make incremental adjustments that can transform existing technologies into inventions that are appropriate for prevailing domestic conditions.
Keywords: Human Capital; Economic Development; British Industrial Revolution; Technological Innovation
JEL Codes: J24; N13; O14; O31; O34
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| scientific knowledge (D80) | technological innovation (O35) |
| human capital (J24) | technological innovation (O35) |
| specialized knowledge (D80) | inventive activity (O31) |
| market incentives (D47) | technological innovation (O35) |
| ability to adapt existing technologies (O33) | technological innovation (O35) |
| educational background (I21) | inventive productivity (O36) |
| practical knowledge (G53) | innovation (O35) |