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Technical choice, innovation, and British steam engineering, 1800–501

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  • ALESSANDRO NUVOLARI
  • BART VERSPAGEN

Abstract

The development of the high‐pressure expansive engine represented a watershed in the evolution of steam power technology, allowing the attainment of major fuel economies. In Britain, Cornish engineers took the lead in the exploration of this specific technological trajectory. Notwithstanding its superior fuel efficiency was immediately widely discussed, the high‐pressure expansive engine did not find widespread application in other steam‐using regions (in particular in Lancashire), where the Watt low‐pressure engine continued to be the favourite option. This article provides a reassessment of the factors accounting for the precocious adoption of the high‐pressure steam engine in Cornwall and for its delayed fortune in the rest of Britain.

Suggested Citation

  • Alessandro Nuvolari & Bart Verspagen, 2009. "Technical choice, innovation, and British steam engineering, 1800–501," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 62(3), pages 685-710, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ehsrev:v:62:y:2009:i:3:p:685-710
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-0289.2009.00472.x
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    Cited by:

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    4. Dosi, Giovanni & Nelson, Richard R., 2010. "Technical Change and Industrial Dynamics as Evolutionary Processes," Handbook of the Economics of Innovation, in: Bronwyn H. Hall & Nathan Rosenberg (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Innovation, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 0, pages 51-127, Elsevier.
    5. Nicholas Crafts, 2022. "Slow real wage growth during the Industrial Revolution: productivity paradox or pro-rich growth? [Engels’ pause: technical change, capital accumulation, and inequality in the British industrial rev," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 74(1), pages 1-13.
    6. Nomaler, Onder & Verspagen, Bart, 2016. "River deep, mountain high: Of long-run knowledge trajectories within and between innovation clusters," MERIT Working Papers 2016-048, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    7. Nicholas Crafts, 2021. "Understanding productivity growth in the industrial revolution," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 74(2), pages 309-338, May.
    8. George Selgin & John L. Turner, 2011. "Strong Steam, Weak Patents, or the Myth of Watt's Innovation-Blocking Monopoly, Exploded," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 54(4), pages 841-861.
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