The First Knowledge Economy: Human Capital and the European Economy, 1750–1850

Margaret C. Jacob

doi:10.1017/CBO9781107358355

Ever since the Industrial Revolution debate has raged about the sources of the new, sustained western prosperity. Margaret Jacob here argues persuasively for the critical importance of knowledge in Europe's economic transformation during the period from 1750 to 1850, first in Britain and then in selected parts of northern and western Europe. This is a new history of economic development in which minds, books, lectures and education become central. She shows how, armed with knowledge and know-how and inspired by the desire to get rich, entrepreneurs emerged within an industrial culture wedded to scientific knowledge and technology. She charts how, across a series of industries and nations, innovative engineers and entrepreneurs sought to make sense and a profit out of the world around them. Skilled hands matched minds steeped in the knowledge systems new to the eighteenth century to transform the economic destiny of western Europe.

'… there is every reason to recommend this book and over its Jacob predecessors and indeed to delight in the research it contains. This is undoubtedly part of the story of industrialization.'

Pat Hudson Source: The Journal of Modern History

'A significant strength is the elimination of economic determinism and the inclusion of knowledge of science into the public equation. Jacob's coherent argument, premised on solid evidence … unequivocally shows that the first knowledge economy in the world emerged in parallel with the Industrial Revolution.'

Fedir V. Razumenko Source: Canadian Journal of History

'This is a compact and tightly argued book, at its best when refuting Robert Allen’s claim that coal and high wages gave Great Britain its edge (see Robert Allen, Industrial Revolution in Global Perspective [Cambridge, 2009]). It is also a provocative read, liable to raise more questions than it answers.'

Lissa Roberts Source: Isis

- Aa Reduce text
- Aa Enlarge text

View selected items
Save to my bookmarks
Export citations
Download PDF (zip)
Save to Kindle
Save to Dropbox
Save to Google Drive
Save content to
To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to .

To save content items to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Please be advised that item(s) you selected are not available.
You are about to save
Your Kindle email address

Please provide your Kindle email.

@free.kindle.com @kindle.com (service fees apply)

By using this service, you agree that you will only keep content for personal use, and will not openly distribute them via Dropbox, Google Drive or other file sharing services

Metrics

Altmetric attention score

Total number of HTML views: 0

Total number of PDF views: 0 *

Loading metrics...

Total views: 0 *

Loading metrics...

* Views captured on Cambridge Core between #date#. This data will be updated every 24 hours.

Usage data cannot currently be displayed.

Why this information is here

This section outlines the accessibility features of this content - including support for screen readers, full keyboard navigation and high-contrast display options. This may not be relevant for you.

Accessibility Information

Accessibility compliance for the PDF of this book is currently unknown and may be updated in the future.

The First Knowledge Economy

Human Capital and the European Economy, 1750–1850

This Book has been cited by the following publications. This list is generated based on data provided by Crossref.

Book description

Reviews

Refine List

Actions for selected content:

Contents

Frontmatter
pp i-iv

Contents
pp v-v

List of Figures
pp vi-vi

List of Maps
pp vii-vii

Acknowledgements
pp viii-x

Introduction
pp 1-19

1 - A portrait of early industrial lives
pp 20-56

2 - The knowledge economy and coal
pp 57-84

3 - Technical knowledge and making cotton king
pp 85-109

4 - Textiles in Leeds
pp 110-135

5 - The puzzle of French retardation I
pp 136-159

6 - The puzzle of French retardation II
pp 160-184

7 - Education and the inculcation of industrial knowledge
pp 185-219

Conclusion
pp 220-224

Bibliography
pp 225-246

Index
pp 247-257

Metrics

Altmetric attention score

Full text views

Book summary page views

Accessibility standard: Unknown

Why this information is here

Accessibility Information

The First Knowledge Economy

Human Capital and the European Economy, 1750–1850

Book description

Reviews

Refine List

Actions for selected content:

Save Search

Contents

Metrics

Altmetric attention score

Full text views

Book summary page views

Accessibility standard: Unknown

Why this information is here

Accessibility Information