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The contribution of new technology to economic growth: lessons from economic history*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 December 2010

Nicholas Crafts
Nicholas Crafts*
Affiliation:
Department of Economics, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, Warwick, UK. n.crafts@warwick.ac.uk
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Abstract

This paper reviews the analysis of technological change by cliometricians. It focuses on lessons about total factor productivity (TFP) from growth accounting and on aspects of social capability that are conducive to the effective assimilation of new technology. Key messages are that when TFP growth is very rapid this typically involves reductions in inefficiency not just technological advance and that even really important new technologies have small initial effects on aggregate productivity. Incentive structures matter greatly for the adoption of new technology, but social capability is not independent of the technological epoch as the information and communications technology (ICT) era has emphasized to Europeans.

Resumen

Este artículo revisa el análisis del cambio tecnológico por cliómetras. Se centra en las lecciones acerca de la productividad total de los factores (PTF) desde la contabilidad del crecimiento y sobre aspectos de la capacidad social que propician la asimilación efectiva de nueva tecnología. Los mensajes clave son que, cuando el crecimiento de la PTF es muy rápido, esto normalmente implica reducciones en ineficiencia no sólo avance en el cambio técnico y que incluso las nuevas tecnologías realmente importantes tienen efectos iniciales pequeños sobre la productividad agregada. Las estructuras de incentivos son realmente importantes en la adopción de nuevas tecnologías pero la capacidad social no es independiente del periodo tecnológico, como la era de las tecnologías de la información y Comunicación (TIC) muestran para los europeos.

Keywords

economic growthgrowth accountingsocial capabilitytechnological changeN70O30O40crecimiento económicocontabilidad del crecimientocapacidad socialcambio tecnológico
Type
Articles/Artículos
Information
Revista de Historia Economica - Journal of Iberian and Latin American Economic History , Volume 28 , Issue 3 , December 2010 , pp. 409 - 440
Copyright
Copyright © Instituto Figuerola de Historia y Ciencias Sociales, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid 2010

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