The First Knowledge Economy
The First Knowledge Economy
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.
- Challenges traditional perceptions of traditional economic explanations and instead offers a new perspective on economic change
- Provides evidence that education matters within economic development
- Offers a comparative approach across four countries to explore the knowledge available in Britain, France, Belgium and the Dutch Republic
Reviews & endorsements
'… 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, 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, 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, Isis
Product details
January 2014Paperback
9781107619838
265 pages
227 × 153 × 12 mm
0.43kg
11 b/w illus. 2 maps
Available
Table of Contents
- Introduction: knowledge and industrial development: the stakes
- 1. A portrait of early industrial lives: the Watts and Boultons, science and entrepreneurship
- 2. The knowledge economy and coal: how technological change happened
- 3. Technical knowledge and making cotton king
- 4. Textiles in Leeds: mechanical science on the factory floor
- 5. The puzzle of French retardation: reform and its antecedents
- 6. The puzzle of French retardation: restoration and reaction
- 7. Education and the inculcation of industrial knowledge: the Low Countries, 1750–1830.
