The Industrial Revolution occurred because labour was expensive relative to capital and coal, making technologies that replaced labour with machines profitable.
The Nineteenth-Century Rules for Growth
Britain’s first-mover advantage meant that other countries could not compete with it under free markets. They responded with a variety of protective policies.
The Second Industrial Revolution
The Second Industrial Revolution produced a range of new technologies, including industrial chemistry, electric power, and the internal combustion engine.
The Division of the World
W. Arthur Lewis explained why the world divided into manufacturers and primary producers, and into prosperous temperate countries and poor tropical countries.
More on the Division of the World
Long-distance trade grew rapidly during the 19th century, widening the gap between the per capita incomes of the West and the Third World.
How Modern Science Came to China
China became aware of Western science in the sixteenth century, but did not embrace it until the Opium Wars demonstrated the West’s technological superiority.
The Transformation of Japan after the Meiji Restoration
Japan was a feudal economy in 1868. Over the next few decades it completely transformed itself to become one of the leading nations of the world.
One Hundred and Fifty Years of American Growth
American technological progress was rapid between 1920 and 1970, and slow after 1970. Why was it so rapid before 1970? Why was it so slow after 1970?
Why Nations Fail: Extractive and Inclusive Institutions
Acemoglu and Robinson argue that a country’s prosperity is determined by its political and economic institutions. Casual empiricism supports their argument.
Why Nations Fail: Theory is Tidy, History is Messy
Evidence from the Industrial Revolution does not support Acemoglu and Robinson’s claim that the transition to sustained growth always follows the same pattern.
Merchants and Mechanics 