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The spinning jenny and the guillotine: technology diffusion at the time of revolutions

Author

Listed:
  • Ugo Gragnolati

    (CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

  • Moschella Daniele

    (Institute of Economics of Sant'Anna [Pisa] - SSSUP - Scuola Universitaria Superiore Sant'Anna [Pisa])

  • Pugliese Emanuele

    (Institute of Economics of Sant'Anna [Pisa] - SSSUP - Scuola Universitaria Superiore Sant'Anna [Pisa])

Abstract

Scale economies and demand, combined with the relative prices of input factors, can provide an economic explanation to the location and timing of the Industrial Revolution. Its labor-saving innovations were profitable only above a minimum output threshold, which allowed to cover the upfront cost of capital. In turn, the possibility to exceed such threshold depended on consumer demand, which was affected by the level and by the distribution of real income. The case of the spinning jenny and the cotton industry in England and France serves as a valuable case study to show how scale and demand considerations might have mattered even at the eve of the Industrial Revolution, thus implying also a potentially important role for income distribution.

Suggested Citation

  • Ugo Gragnolati & Moschella Daniele & Pugliese Emanuele, 2014. "The spinning jenny and the guillotine: technology diffusion at the time of revolutions," Post-Print hal-01297059, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-01297059
    DOI: 10.1007/s11698-012-0092-9
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    Cited by:

    1. Julio Martínez-Galarraga & Marc Prat, 2014. "Wages and prices in early Catalan industrialisation," UB School of Economics Working Papers 2014/305, University of Barcelona School of Economics.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Industrial Revolution; Income distribution; Scale economies; Choice of technique;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • N00 - Economic History - - General - - - General
    • N33 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - Europe: Pre-1913
    • N73 - Economic History - - Economic History: Transport, International and Domestic Trade, Energy, and Other Services - - - Europe: Pre-1913
    • O14 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Industrialization; Manufacturing and Service Industries; Choice of Technology

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