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Explaining the Great Divergence: Medium and Message on the Eurasian Land Mass, 1700-1850

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Author Info
DUDLEY, Leonard

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Abstract

Between 1700 and 1850, per-capita income doubled in Europe while falling in the rest of Eurasia. Neither geography nor economic institutions can explain this sudden divergence. Here the consequences of differences in communications technology are examined. For the first time, there appeared in Europe a combination of a standardized medium (national vernaculars with a phonetic alphabet) and a non-standardized message (competing religious, political and scientific ideas). The result was an unprecedented fall in the cost of combining ideas and burst of productivity-raising innovation. Elsewhere, decreasing standardization of the medium and increasing standardization of the message blocked innovation.

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Publisher Info
Paper provided by Universite de Montreal, Departement de sciences economiques in its series Cahiers de recherche with number 2003-19.

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Length: 27 pages
Date of creation: 2003
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Handle: RePEc:mtl:montde:2003-19

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N1 - Economic History - - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Growth and Fluctuations
O3 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Technological Change

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  1. JEAN-MICHEL Josselin & ALAIN Marciano, 1997. "The Paradox of Leviathan: How to Develop and Contain the Future European State?," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 4(1), pages 5-22, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Dudley, L., 1996. "The Rationality of Revolution," Cahiers de recherche 9619, Universite de Montreal, Departement de sciences economiques. [Downloadable!]
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  3. Martin L. Weitzman, 1998. "Recombinant Growth," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 113(2), pages 331-360, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  4. Deepak Lal, 2001. "Unintended Consequences: The Impact of Factor Endowments, Culture, and Politics on Long-Run Economic Performance," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262621541, January.
  5. North, Douglass C, 1991. "Institutions," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 5(1), pages 97-112, Winter. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Holler, Manfred J. & Thisse, Jacques-Francois, 1996. "The economics of standardization: Introduction and overview," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 12(2), pages 177-182, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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