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Commanding Nature by Obeying Her: A Review Essay on Joel Mokyr’s A Culture of Growth

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  • Enrico Spolaore

Abstract

Why is modern society capable of cumulative innovation? In A Culture of Growth: The Origins of the Modern Economy, Joel Mokyr persuasively argues that sustained technological progress stemmed from a change in cultural beliefs. The change occurred gradually during the seventeenth and eighteenth century and was fostered by an intellectual elite that formed a transnational community and adopted new attitudes toward the creation and diffusion of knowledge, setting the foundation for the ethos of modern science. The book is a significant contribution to the growing literature that links culture and economics. This review discusses Mokyr’s historical analysis in relation to the following questions: What is culture and how should we use it in economics? How can culture explain modern economic growth? Will the culture of growth that caused modern prosperity persist in the future?

Suggested Citation

  • Enrico Spolaore, 2019. "Commanding Nature by Obeying Her: A Review Essay on Joel Mokyr’s A Culture of Growth," NBER Working Papers 26061, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:26061
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    Cited by:

    1. Enrico Spolaore, 2022. "The Economic Approach to Political Borders," CESifo Working Paper Series 10165, CESifo.
    2. Michela Giorcelli & Nicola Lacetera & Astrid Marinoni, 2022. "How does scientific progress affect cultural changes? A digital text analysis," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 27(3), pages 415-452, September.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • N0 - Economic History - - General
    • N13 - Economic History - - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Industrial Structure; Growth; Fluctuations - - - Europe: Pre-1913
    • N33 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - Europe: Pre-1913
    • O3 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights
    • O52 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Europe
    • Z1 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics

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