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Learning-by-Producing and the Geographic Links Between Invention and Production: Experience From the Second Industrial Revolution

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  • Dhanoos Sutthiphisal

Abstract

This paper investigates the impact of ¡§learning-by-producing¡¨ on inventive activity and shows that, in both emerging (electrical equipment and supplies) and maturing (shoes and textiles) industries, the geographic association between invention and production was rather weak during the Second Industrial Revolution. Regional shifts in production were neither accompanied nor followed by corresponding increases in invention. Instead, this paper finds that the geographic location of inventive activity tended to mirror the geographic distribution of individuals with advanced technical skills appropriate to the particular industry in question. Even in the craft-based shoe industry, much of the invention came from those with the advanced technical skills. The findings suggest that scholars have over-emphasized the importance of learning-by-producing in accounting for the geographic differences in inventive activity, and underestimated the significance of technical skills or human capital amongst the population.

Suggested Citation

  • Dhanoos Sutthiphisal, 2006. "Learning-by-Producing and the Geographic Links Between Invention and Production: Experience From the Second Industrial Revolution," NBER Working Papers 12469, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:12469
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Alwyn Young, 1991. "Learning by Doing and the Dynamic Effects of International Trade," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 106(2), pages 369-405.
    2. Sukkoo Kim, 1995. "Expansion of Markets and the Geographic Distribution of Economic Activities: The Trends in U. S. Regional Manufacturing Structure, 1860–1987," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 110(4), pages 881-908.
    3. L. D. H. Weld, 1912. "Specialization in the Woolen and Worsted Industry," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 27(1), pages 67-94.
    4. Alwyn Young, 1991. "Learning by Doing and the Dynamic Effects of International Trade," NBER Working Papers 3577, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Mass, William, 1989. "Mechanical and Organizational Innovation: The Drapers and the Automatic Loom," Business History Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 63(4), pages 876-929, January.
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • N0 - Economic History - - General
    • O3 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights

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