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The creative response in economic development: the case of information processing technologies in US manufacturing, 1870-1930

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Author Info
Andreas Reinstaller () (MERIT - Maastricht University)
Werner Hölzl () (Vienna University of Economics & B.A.)

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Abstract

This paper presents a theoretical framework along "Classical" lines in which Schumpeter's concept of "Creative Response" is linked to a theory of induced innovation and the concept of technological regimes. We devote particular attention to the role of indivisibilities between factors of production. On the basis of this framework, we study the adoption of early information technologies, such as typewriters, calculators or Hollerith machines in US manufacturing in the period between 1870 and 1930. We show how the presence of a distinct bias in technical change in US manufacturing led to the opening of a window of opportunity for early information technologies, and how the presence of this bias influenced the technological search and adoption process of firms and how this found its final reflection in the rules and heuristics of the new regimemulation is found.

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Publisher Info
Paper provided by Vienna University of Economics and B.A. Research Group: Growth and Employment in Europe: Sustainability and Competitiveness in its series Working Papers with number geewp15.

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Date of creation: Jun 2001
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Handle: RePEc:wiw:wiwgee:geewp15

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Web page: http://www.wu-wien.ac.at/inst/vw1/gee/

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Related research
Keywords: Technological regimes; systemic innovation; adoption of technologies; path dependence; information technology 1870-1930;

Find related papers by JEL classification:
D24 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Production; Capital and Total Factor Productivity; Capacity
N60 - Economic History - - Manufacturing and Construction - - - General, International, or Comparative
O31 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Technological Change - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
O33 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Technological Change - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
L69 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Manufacturing - - - Other

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  6. Dumenil, Gérard & Lévy, Dominique, 1996. "Acceleration and slowdown of technical progress in the us since the civil war (the)," CEPREMAP Working Papers (Couverture Orange) 9601, CEPREMAP.
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  8. Windrum, Paul & Birchenhall, Chris, 1998. "Is product life cycle theory a special case? Dominant designs and the emergence of market niches through coevolutionary-learning," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 9(1), pages 109-134, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. Malerba, Franco & Orsenigo, Luigi, 1995. "Schumpeterian Patterns of Innovation," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 19(1), pages 47-65, February.
  10. Hecht, Jason, 2001. "Classical Labour-Displacing Technological Change: The Case of the US Insurance Industry," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 25(4), pages 517-37, July.
  11. Saviotti, P. P. & Metcalfe, J. S., 1984. "A theoretical approach to the construction of technological output indicators," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 13(3), pages 141-151, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  12. Paul A. David & Gavin Wright, 2005. "Early Twentieth Century Productivity Growth Dynamics: An Inquiry into the Economic History of “Our Ignorance”," Macroeconomics 0502023, EconWPA. [Downloadable!]
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