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Epilogue

Joel Mokyr

in The Lever of Riches: Technological Creativity and Economic Progress

This chapter discusses the search for the causes of technological progress. It observes that, in the past ten years, a veritable revolution has occurred in a wide variety of fields, from genetic ... More

This chapter discusses the search for the causes of technological progress. It observes that, in the past ten years, a veritable revolution has occurred in a wide variety of fields, from genetic engineering to consumer electronics. The chapter notes that the essence of technological progress is its unpredictability, and that nothing in the historical record seems to indicate that the creation of new technological opportunities—as opposed to their exploitation—is subject to diminishing returns, fatigue, old age, or exhaustion. It opines that if Cardwell's Law can be extrapolated into the future, no single society should expect to be on the cutting edge of technology forever. As Schumpeter stressed, the enemy of technological progress was not the lack of useful new ideas, but the social forces that, for one reason or another, tried to preserve the status quo.Less

Evolution and the Dynamics of Technological Change

Joel Mokyr

in The Lever of Riches: Technological Creativity and Economic Progress

This chapter focuses at the dynamics of technological change. It specifically asks whether technological change occurs in leaps and bounds, or whether it takes place gradually and continuously. The ... More

This chapter focuses at the dynamics of technological change. It specifically asks whether technological change occurs in leaps and bounds, or whether it takes place gradually and continuously. The chapter sets up an analogy between technological progress and biological evolution, and tries to apply the concept of punctuated equilibrium to the analysis of technology. It observes that one concept that has been employed in the economics of growth is the steady state, a form of growth which is itself constant and predictable, and thus can be regarded as a dynamic equivalent to the concept of equilibrium. The chapter opines that it would seem natural to think of the steady state as an evolutionary process.Less

How Much Richer Will Future Generations Be?

Wilfred Beckerman and Joanna Pasek

in Justice, Posterity, and the Environment

This chapter leaves the ‘safe’ world of philosophical speculation and turns to the dangerous world of economic prediction. It outlines the economic reasons for believing that, in the very long ... More

This chapter leaves the ‘safe’ world of philosophical speculation and turns to the dangerous world of economic prediction. It outlines the economic reasons for believing that, in the very long term—i.e. abstracting from cyclical or other transitory fluctuations in economic activity—future generations will be incomparably richer than people today. Reasons are also given for believing that there will be no significant obstacles to future growth on account of popularly feared environmental developments, such as running out of ‘finite’ resources, or climate change.Less

Structural Change

Andrew Newell

in Work and Pay in 20th Century Britain

This chapter presents and analyses the major structural changes, in terms of industry and occupation, that took place in the British labour market over the 20th century. The engine driving these ... More

This chapter presents and analyses the major structural changes, in terms of industry and occupation, that took place in the British labour market over the 20th century. The engine driving these changes was technological progress, which completely transformed the occupations, industries, hours of work, and most of all, the standard of living of British workers.Less

The Years of Miracles: The Industrial Revolution 1750–1830

Joel Mokyr

in The Lever of Riches: Technological Creativity and Economic Progress

This chapter discusses the technological progress in the Industrial Revolution, usually dated between about 1750 and 1830. It notes that although Britain is frequently thought of as its locus, a ... More

This chapter discusses the technological progress in the Industrial Revolution, usually dated between about 1750 and 1830. It notes that although Britain is frequently thought of as its locus, a large part of the new technology was the result of work done in other European countries and, later, in the United States. The chapter observes that the fruits of the Industrial Revolution were slow in coming, and that although per capita consumption and living standards increased little initially, production technologies changed dramatically in many industries and sectors, which prepared the way for sustained Schumpeterian growth in the second half of the nineteenth century, when technological progress spread to previously unaffected industries. It examines the technological changes during this period occurring in four main groups, namely: power technology, metallurgy, textiles, and a miscellaneous category of other industries and services.Less

Endogenous Growth: Which Are the Important Factors?

Patrick Artus

in Economics Beyond the Millennium

Endogenous growth theory has been developed in order to overcome the unsatisfactory features of neo‐classical growth models. These models give richer explanations of empirical facts and are able to ... More

Endogenous growth theory has been developed in order to overcome the unsatisfactory features of neo‐classical growth models. These models give richer explanations of empirical facts and are able to account for differences in growth rates between countries. The author argues that although considerable progress has been made on theoretical models, much is yet to be done empirically to define and isolate the explanatory factors of growth.Less

The Role of Knowledge and Capital in Economic Growth

SERGIO REBELO

in Information Technology, Productivity, and Economic Growth: International Evidence and Implications for Economic Development

One of the most active fields of research in economics over the last fifteen years includes the determination of the forces which affect the economic growth rate. While researchers have already been ... More

One of the most active fields of research in economics over the last fifteen years includes the determination of the forces which affect the economic growth rate. While researchers have already been able to come up with several different models of gaining sustained growth even without the exogenous growth in productivity, research is still ongoing for variables that may be correlated with growth performance in the different versions of the Summers and Heston data set or simply the business cycles. It was found that a certain agent would be willing to sacrifice a portion of his consumption in exchange for living in an economy that experiences a faster growth rate. This chapter looks into the evolution of various growth models, specifically the neoclassical growth model, and examine how human capital and the state of technology should be incorporated in models of endogenous technological progress.Less

Humans Are Biologically Identical across Cultures. So Why Not Medicine?

Paul U. Unschuld

in What Is Medicine?: Western and Eastern Approaches to Healing

This chapter discusses various aspects that are shared by and various differences between the two medical traditions of East and West. Constant efforts by researchers, naturalists, and clinically ... More

This chapter discusses various aspects that are shared by and various differences between the two medical traditions of East and West. Constant efforts by researchers, naturalists, and clinically practicing physicians in direct contact with patients has led to continuously better insights. The source of differences between the medical traditions in the East and West is the differences arising from religious and cultural distinctiveness. In China as in Europe, there have always been diverse groups subscribing to different ideas about the causes of illness and how to prevent or treat illness. It is assumed that the biological foundations of intelligence exist to the same extent in all civilizations. It is also assumed that the biological foundations of illness and health are almost identical everywhere. There is an evidence of minor differences such as in the endowment of enzymes in various populations that lead to variations in the tolerance of milk products or alcohol.Less

Economic Growth and Human Development since 1820

Şevket Pamuk

in Uneven Centuries

This chapter examines the trends in economic growth and human development in Turkey during the last two centuries. Economists have learned a great deal about modern economic growth since the end of ... More

This chapter examines the trends in economic growth and human development in Turkey during the last two centuries. Economists have learned a great deal about modern economic growth since the end of World War II. The large and growing literature has emphasized that increases in productivity, achieved through technological progress on the one hand, and increases in per capita physical capital and education levels, on the other, were the most important factors contributing to economic growth. In addition, the labor force is much better educated than in 1820. In short, technological change and higher rates of investment in both physical and human capital are seen today as the leading proximate causes of economic growth since the Industrial Revolution.Less

The Landscape of the College Cost Debate

Robert B. Archibald and David H. Feldman

in Why Does College Cost So Much?

This chapter introduces the subject matter and the mode of analysis in the book. This chapter explains why costs and prices are quite different at colleges and universities. The way one thinks about ... More

This chapter introduces the subject matter and the mode of analysis in the book. This chapter explains why costs and prices are quite different at colleges and universities. The way one thinks about changes in college costs and college prices depends on where one sits. In particular, a close-up view focused exclusively on colleges and universities will lead to quite different conclusions than an aerial view that places colleges and universities in a broader economy-wide perspective. This chapter explains why the book adopts the aerial view rather than a close-up view. The chapter ends with a preview of the results in the remainder of the book, emphasizing the critical role of technological progress. The pace of technological progress and the type of technological progress have significant influences on college costs and prices.Less

The Costs of Employing Highly Educated Workers

Robert B. Archibald and David H. Feldman

in Why Does College Cost So Much?

Higher education prices have evolved over time in a manner quite similar to other service industries that rely heavily on highly educated workers, and quite differently from the time paths of prices ... More

Higher education prices have evolved over time in a manner quite similar to other service industries that rely heavily on highly educated workers, and quite differently from the time paths of prices in other service industries. As Claudia Goldin and Lawrence Katz explain, the returns to education are the result of a race between technological progress that increases the demand for highly educated workers and educational attainment that increases the supply. Beginning in the late 1970s, a slowdown in the growth of educational attainment helped fuel a dramatic increase in the wages of highly skilled workers. Any explanation of the rising cost of college attendance must incorporate as part of the story this shift in the income distribution in favor of the well educated.Less

Adult Mortality and Modern Growth

Davide Fiaschi and Tamara Fioroni

Matteo Cervellati and Uwe Sunde (eds)

in Demographic Change and Long-Run Development

This chapter explores the role of increased adult longevity and technological progress in the transition from Malthusian equilibrium to modern growth. Empirical evidence suggests a general upward ... More

This chapter explores the role of increased adult longevity and technological progress in the transition from Malthusian equilibrium to modern growth. Empirical evidence suggests a general upward trend in life expectancy at birth and in adult survival rate of countries and a positive correlation between these two variables and income. A first strand of literature investigates the causes of mortality decline in western countries. Scholars can be divided into two main groups: the first attributes the observed mortality decline mainly to income growth via better nutrition, and the second emphasizes the role of public health and sanitary intervention. Meanwhile, a second strand of literature explores various channels through which mortality decline affects income.Less

Diversity and Technological Progress

Daran Acemoglu

in The Rate and Direction of Inventive Activity Revisited

This chapter discusses the relationship between innovation and incumbency, but places emphasis on a dynamic setting that incorporates not simply the rate but also the direction of innovative ... More

This chapter discusses the relationship between innovation and incumbency, but places emphasis on a dynamic setting that incorporates not simply the rate but also the direction of innovative activity: an environment where there are multiple potential “research lines,” but only one is commercially active at any point in time. There is a chance that the commercially active research line will at some point be made obsolete (e.g., as the result of exhausting a natural resource), and the chapter focuses on the underlying incentives to invest in the alternative (but not yet commercially viable) technology line. Because the returns from innovation are only realized for those generations where the research line is commercially active, the private returns to innovation in the alternative line will be low unless there is a high likelihood that the currently active line is about to made obsolete.Less

Long Run Growth:: Objectives and Received Theory

Dipankar Dasgupta

in Modern Growth Theory

An increase in the annual growth rate of a country’s real per capita gross domestic product (GDP) is, to a large extent, an indication of improvement in the standard of living. Most nations which are ... More

An increase in the annual growth rate of a country’s real per capita gross domestic product (GDP) is, to a large extent, an indication of improvement in the standard of living. Most nations which are reasonably progressive based on social indicators exhibit substantially large values of real per capita GDP. Economists try to come up with theories to explain why the real GDP rises significantly over time. The explanations centre around supply and demand, two of the most basic tools of economic analysis. This chapter discusses growth economics and growth theory, command economy and private economy, investment, and technological progress.Less

West of Eden

Beth E. Levy

in Frontier Figures: American Music and the Mythology of the American West

This chapter explores the pastoral soundtracks of two distinctly midwestern works: one by Leo Sowerby and one by Lukas Foss, both inspired by Carl Sandburg's poem “The Prairie.” Like Virgil Thomson's ... More

This chapter explores the pastoral soundtracks of two distinctly midwestern works: one by Leo Sowerby and one by Lukas Foss, both inspired by Carl Sandburg's poem “The Prairie.” Like Virgil Thomson's soundtrack for The Plow That Broke the Plains, each departs from Arcadian pastorals by making conflict a central theme. And taken together, they can be seen to chronicle the impact of technological “progress” on western land that was, despite all previous mythmaking, not very well suited to the family farm. The tensions which shatter the operatic households of Aaron Copland's The Tender Land, Douglas Moore's Giants in the Earth, and Ernst Bacon's Tree on the Plains suggest that even a healthy crop of folk song cannot sustain domestic harmony in the face of personal and national maturation. No matter how pastoral, these prairie landscapes were not idyllic and never timeless.Less