General purpose technologies and economic growth

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Bibliographic Information

General purpose technologies and economic growth

edited by Elhanan Helpman

MIT Press, c1998

  • : hc
  • : pbk

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Includes bibliographical references and index

Description and Table of Contents

Volume

: hc ISBN 9780262082631

Description

The contributors to this volume are concerned with the type of drastic innovation called general purpose technologies (GPTs). A GPT has the potential to affect the entire economic system and can lead to far-reaching changes in such social factors as working hours and constraints on family life. Examples of GPTs are the steam engine, electricity, and the computer.Traditionally, economists have considered the accumulation of conventional inputs such as labor and capital to be the primary force behind economic growth. Now, however, many macroeconomists place technological progress at the center of the growth process. This shift is due to new theoretical developments that allow researchers to link microeconomic aspects of the innovation process with macroeconomic outcomes.Most economists have viewed technological progress as an incremental process. A few have focused on the role of drastic innovations-those that introduce a discontinuity. The contributors to this volume are concerned with the type of drastic innovation called general purpose technologies (GPTs). A GPT has the potential to affect the entire economic system and can lead to far-reaching changes in such social factors as working hours and constraints on family life. Examples of GPTs are the steam engine, electricity, and the computer. The study of GPTs is relatively new. A universal theoretical framework for dealing with GPTs does not yet exist. The essays in this book both further our understanding of GPT-driven economic growth and lay the foundation for further developments of the available frameworks.ContributorsPhilippe Aghion, Ciff Bekar, Timothy Bresnahan, Kenneth Carlaw, Alfonso Gambardella, Richard G. Harris, Elhanan Helpman, Peter Howitt, Richard G. Lipsey, Kevin M. Murphy, Craig Riddell, Paul Romer, Nathan Rosenberg, Manuel Trajtenberg

Table of Contents

  • Introduction, Elhanan Helpman
  • what requires explanation?, Richard G. Lipsey et al
  • a time to sow and a time to reap - growth based on general purpose technologies, Elhanan Helpman and Manuel Trajtenberg
  • diffusion of general purpose technologies, Elhanan Helpman and Manuel Trajtenberg
  • on the macroeconomic effect of major technological change, Philippe Aghion and Peter Howitt
  • the Internet as a GPT - factor market implications, Richard G. Harris
  • chemical engineering as a general purpose technology, Nathan Rosenberg
  • the consequences of changes in GPTs, Richard G. Lipsey et al
  • measurement, obsolescence and general purpose technologies, Peter Howitt
  • the division of inventive labour and the extent of the market, Timothy Bresnahan and Alfonso Gambardella
  • wages, skills and technology in the United States and Canada, Kevin M. Murphy et al.
Volume

: pbk ISBN 9780262514682

Description

Traditionally, economists have considered the accumulation of conventional inputs such as labor and capital to be the primary force behind economic growth. Now, however, many macroeconomists place technological progress at the center of the growth process. This shift is due to new theoretical developments that allow researchers to link microeconomic aspects of the innovation process with macroeconomic outcomes.Most economists have viewed technological progress as an incremental process. A few have focused on the role of drastic innovations--those that introduce a discontinuity. The contributors to this volume are concerned with the type of drastic innovation called general purpose technologies (GPTs). A GPT has the potential to affect the entire economic system and can lead to far-reaching changes in such social factors as working hours and constraints on family life. Examples of GPTs are the steam engine, electricity, and the computer.The study of GPTs is relatively new. A universal theoretical framework for dealing with GPTs does not yet exist. The essays in this book both further our understanding of GPT-driven economic growth and lay the foundation for further developments of the available frameworks.Contributors : Philippe Aghion, Ciff Bekar, Timothy Bresnahan, Kenneth Carlaw, Alfonso Gambardella, Richard G. Harris, Elhanan Helpman, Peter Howitt, Richard G. Lipsey, Kevin M. Murphy, Craig Riddell, Paul Romer, Nathan Rosenberg, Manuel Trajtenberg.

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