Bottom-up or top-down? The origins of the Industrial Revolution

• Published in: Journal of institutional economics Vol. 14; no. 6; pp. 1003 - 1024
• Main Author: MOKYR, JOEL
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press 01.12.2018
• Subjects: Artisans; British history; Capital distributions; Economic growth; Economic theory; Education; Elites; Enlightenment; Human capital; Incentives; Industrial Revolution; Inventions; Inventors; Modernity; Philosophers; Political power; Political systems; Scientific technological revolution; Scientists; Tacit knowledge; Technological change; Technological progress

Was technological progress during and after the Industrial Revolution top-down or bottom-up? The technology that created the great inventions was driven by a combination of pathbreaking ideas and the dexterity and skills of trained artisans. While those forms of human capital were quite different, t...