A General-Purpose Technology at Work: The Corliss Steam Engine in the Late-Nineteenth-Century United States

• Published in: The Journal of economic history Vol. 64; no. 1; pp. 61 - 99
• Main Authors: ROSENBERG, NATHAN, TRAJTENBERG, MANUEL
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, USA Cambridge University Press 01.03.2004
• Subjects: 19th century; 20th century; Adoption; Censuses; Economic activity; Economic growth; Economic history; Efficiency; Engines; Factories; Geomagnetic polarity time scale; History of technology; Human capital; Industrial development; Industrial Revolution; Innovations; Integrated circuits; Manufacturers; Manufacturing; Manufacturing industries; Mines; Modern history; Population growth; Railway systems; Relocation of industry; Steam; Steam engines; Steam power; Technological change; Technology; U.S.A; Urban areas; Urbanization; Water flow; Watermills; United States > US
• ISSN: 0022-0507; 1471-6372
• DOI: 10.1017/S0022050704002608

The contribution to growth from the steam engine—Industrial Revolution icon and prime example of a “General Purpose Technology”—has remained unclear. This article examines the role that a particular design improvement in steam power, embodied in the Corliss engine, played in the growth of the U.S. economy in the late nineteenth century. Using detailed data on the location of Corliss engines and waterwheels and a two-stage estimation strategy, we show that the deployment of Corliss engines served as a catalyst for the industry's massive relocation into large urban centers, thus fueling agglomeration economies and further population growth.