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Bennet Woodcroft and the Value of English Patents, 1617-1841

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  • Alessandro Nuvolari
  • Valentina Tartari

Abstract

We examine the potentialities of a new indicator for measuring the value of English patents in the period 1617-1841. The indicator is based on the relative visibility of each individual patent in the contemporary technical and legal literature as summarized in Bennet Woodcroft's Reference Index of Patents of Invention. We conclude that the indicator provides a reasonable proxy for the value of patents and that it can be usefully employed to shed light on the timing and nature of innovation during the Industrial Revolution. In particular, our indicator offers a suitable reconciliation between the patent records evidence and the Crafts-Harley view of the Industrial Revolution.

Suggested Citation

  • Alessandro Nuvolari & Valentina Tartari, 2009. "Bennet Woodcroft and the Value of English Patents, 1617-1841," LEM Papers Series 2009/03, Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM), Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy.
    • Handle: RePEc:ssa:lemwps:2009/03
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    Cited by:

    1. Mara P. Squicciarini & Nico Voigtländer, 2015. "Human Capital and Industrialization: Evidence from the Age of Enlightenment," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 130(4), pages 1825-1883.
    2. Nuvolari, Alessandro & Tartari, Valentina & Tranchero, Matteo, 2021. "Patterns of innovation during the Industrial Revolution: A reappraisal using a composite indicator of patent quality," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    3. 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.
    4. Stephen D Billington & Alan J Hanna, 2021. "That’s classified! Inventing a new patent taxonomy [Text matching to measure patent similarity]," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 30(3), pages 678-705.
    5. Billington, Stephen D., 2018. ""War, what is it good for?": The industrial revolution!," QUCEH Working Paper Series 2018-12, Queen's University Belfast, Queen's University Centre for Economic History.
    6. Bergeaud, Antonin & Verluise, Cyril, 2024. "A new dataset to study a century of innovation in Europe and in the US," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(1).
    7. Nicholas Crafts & Terence C Mills, 2022. "Considering the Counterfactual: Real Wages in the First Industrial Revolution," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 132(645), pages 1994-2006.
    8. Bottomley, Sean, 2014. "Patenting in England, Scotland and Ireland during the Industrial Revolution, 1700-1852," IAST Working Papers 14-07, Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse (IAST).
    9. Réka Juhász, 2018. "Temporary Protection and Technology Adoption: Evidence from the Napoleonic Blockade," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 108(11), pages 3339-3376, November.
    10. Walker Hanlon & Antonio Miscio, 2014. "Agglomeration: A Dynamic Approach," NBER Working Papers 20728, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    11. Matthew Gibbons & Les Oxley, 2017. "New Perspectives on Patenting Activity in New Zealand 1860-1899," Working Papers in Economics 17/04, University of Waikato.
    12. Crafts, Nicholas & Mills, Terence C., 2020. "The Race between Population and Technology : Real Wages in the First Industrial Revolution," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 1298, University of Warwick, Department of Economics.
    13. Nicholas Crafts, 2021. "Understanding productivity growth in the industrial revolution," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 74(2), pages 309-338, May.
    14. Bottomley, Sean, 2014. "Patenting in England, Scotland and Ireland during the Industrial Revolution, 1700–1852," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 48-63.
    15. Stephan Heblich & Alex Trew, 2019. "Banking and Industrialization," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 17(6), pages 1753-1796.
    16. Mara P. Squicciarini & Nico Voigtländer, 2016. "Knowledge Elites and Modernization: Evidence from Revolutionary France," NBER Working Papers 22779, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    17. Ugo M. Gragnolati & Alessandro Nuvolari, 2023. "Innovation, localized externalities, and the British Industrial Revolution, 1700-1850," LEM Papers Series 2023/26, Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM), Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy.
    18. Billington, Stephen D., 2021. "What explains patenting behaviour during Britain’s Industrial Revolution?," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    19. Stephan Heblich & Alex Trew, 2019. "Banking and Industrialization," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 17(6), pages 1753-1796.
    20. Andersson, David E. & La Mela, Matti & Tell, Fredrik, 2024. "Family first: Defining, constructing, and applying historical patent families," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    21. Matthew Gibbons & Les Oxley, 2017. "The Relationship of Patenting Applications and Expenditure with Output and Real GDP in Nineteenth Century Colonial New Zealand," Working Papers in Economics 17/05, University of Waikato.
    22. , & Streb, Jochen, 2015. "The Berlin Stock Exchange in Imperial Germany ? a Market for New Technology?," CEPR Discussion Papers 10558, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    23. Feldman, Naomi E. & van der Beek, Karine, 2016. "Skill choice and skill complementarity in eighteenth century England," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 94-113.
    24. Billington, Stephen D., 2018. "Patent costs and the value of inventions: Explaining patenting behaviour between England, Ireland and Scotland, 1617-1852," QUCEH Working Paper Series 2018-10, Queen's University Belfast, Queen's University Centre for Economic History.

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    JEL classification:

    • N73 - Economic History - - Economic History: Transport, International and Domestic Trade, Energy, and Other Services - - - Europe: Pre-1913
    • O34 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Intellectual Property and Intellectual Capital

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