0691094837 9781400829439 electronic book 1400829437 electronic book 0691120137 9780691120133 9780691094830 9781283316903 online
Alternate Call Number
B 75 MOK.G
Summary
The growth of technological and scientific knowledge in the past two centuries has been the overriding dynamic element in the economic and social history of the world. Its result is now often called the knowledge economy. But what are the historical origins of this revolution and what have been its mechanisms? In The Gifts of Athena, Joel Mokyr constructs an original framework to analyze the concept of "useful" knowledge. He argues that the growth explosion in the modern West in the past two centuries was driven not just by the appearance of new technological ideas but also by the improved ac.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 299-338) and index.
Formatted Contents Note
Technology and the problem of human knowledge The industrial enlightenment : the taproot of economic progress The Industrial Revolution and beyond Technology and the factory system Knowledge, health, and the household The political economy of knowledge : innovation and resistance in economic history Institutions, knowledge, and economic growth.