Industrial Revolution: What And When? Britain

Question 1

Industrial Revolution definition

Answer 1

Any rapid significant technological change

(When Britain redeployed resources away from agriculture)

Question 2

Why was Britain first? (8)

Could be exam question, reasons for Britains Industrial Revolution, discuss possible reasons…

Answer 2

High agricultural productivity (agricultural revolution-ENCLOSURES MAINLY,next topic!)
Proto-industrialisation (next topic too!)
Good institutions-property rights, GR 1688
Characteristics of labour-human capital and high wages
Characteristics of population-fertility patterns (late marriage, low fertility, urbanisation)
Good policy>banking, taxes, infrastructure
Geography-resources e.g coal , isolation from turmoil in EU
Speculative- luck

Question 3

4 theorist’s views on why not Italy, Netherlands or France

Answer 3

Allen
Mokyr
Crafts
Ogilvie

Question 4

Allen emphasis

Answer 4

Emphasis on factor prices, new inventions were only cost effective in Britain.

(Lost that role now, inventions are normally executed elsewhere)

Question 5

Mokyr emphasis , and 2 points

Answer 5

Emphasis on institutions-

British science applied and better connected to business

Physical and intellectual property from the Glorious Revolution 1688

Question 6

Crafts emphasis, and example

Answer 6

Emphasis on luck and macro invention

Stochastic (luck) approach- random components, e.g English Channel made it hard to invade Britain.

Question 7

Ogilvie emphasis

Answer 7

No main emphasis on a single factor, Britain brought all possible factors together for the first time.

Question 8

Characteristics of the IR (5)

Answer 8

1.Structural change - agriculture to industry e.g rural>factory

2.Substitution of labour to machines (high wages spur this)

3.Use of non-organic materials e.g oil, gas coal

4.Small scale>large scale production

5.Regional specialisation-industry concentrated next to it’s inputs (e.g Birmingham called Black Country due to iron ore smelting etc)

Question 9

More characteristics of IR (5)

Answer 9

Integrated markets e.g transport inventions e.g steam engine

Higher rates of investment relative to GDP - k accumulation (lots of investment in infrastructure e.g factories)

Emergence of general purpose technologies (can be used in most industries, driving growth and the revolution e.g steam)

Social/institutional change e.g inequality rose (Factory owners rich, workers poor)

TFP growth (total factor productivity growth) the amount of work done by one person. (As a result of tech change)

Question 10

Role of technological change and which growth model justifies this?

Answer 10

Separates pre-modern and modern growth.

Modern growth - sustained growth in efficiency caused by sustained tech change

Solow model shows sustained growth comes from sustained technological change

Solow model-Capital accumulation accelerates initially causing rapid growth. Growth then slows (DMR to FOP) and becomes steady, at this point, technological change then determines growth (TECH CHANGE EXOGENOUS)

Question 11

Evidence of technological change (Crafts again) (3)

Answer 11

Crafts estimated technological change was actually slower than previously thought.

However big TFP growth existed- approx 0.2% 18C and 0.35% 19C

This TFP growth was really fast in key areas, which started off small but grew into large important sectors

Question 12

What were the key exceptional areas that grow into important sectors?

What kind of technological change was undertook ( 6 sectors)

Answer 12

Steam
Textiles
Iron and steel (overtaken by US in 2nd IR!)
Watchmaking-gears
Transport
Communications

Many interconnected

Question 13

APPLICATION FOR MARKS:)
1. Development of steam technology (4)
2. Development of textile technology (4)

3.What % did cotton iron and steam contribute to British TFP growth (evidence they were key sectors with high TFP)

Answer 13

1. Savery pump (1698)>Newcomen engine>Watt engine>Corliss engine (1849)
2. Flying shuttle (1733)>Spinning Jenny>Water frame>Power loom (1785)

3.Cotton 13%
Iron 2%
Steam 3% (steam is a general purpose technology, just like AI’s)

Question 14

2 views on drivers of technological change causing the Industrial Revolution

Answer 14

Allen
Mokyr

Question 15

Allen’s view on drivers of technological change enabling the IR in Britain (4)

Answer 15

‘It paid to invent it there’- Patents from GR 1688

Britain had high wages but cheap capital and energy (transition to wood-coal)

Macro-inventions only made cost effective in Britain

Micro-inventions diffused to the rest of the world (Hicks-neutral, only technology (A) changes, K and L remains the same)

Question 16

Allen (Habakkuk) model findings (2)

Answer 16

Land abundance and labour scarcity led to high wages. (Thus spurring substitution of labour)

Technology shows less resource and labour is needed overtime. (E.g new steam engines mentioned earlier, required less coal overtime-more efficient) (cotton mills took less labour for spinning etc)

Question 17

Criticisms of Allen by Modkyr (2)

Answer 17

Macro inventions came from enlightened investors- institutions matter not costs

Little evidence of patents to actually support labour-saving bias. (By 1800 only 21% of inventions were patented)

Question 18

Mokyr’s view on drivers of the technological change, facilitating the IR in Britain. (2)

2.And what was the technological change NOT CAUSED BY?

Answer 18

Synergy of enlightenment-circulation of ideas connecting business and science E.G ROYAL SOCIETY

Scientific knowledge, skilled craftsmen and good incentives.

2. NOT BASED ON ‘WHERE IT PAID’, AS FRANCE WAS BIGGER, SPAIN MORE LAND, HOLLAND RICHER.

Question 19

Criticisms of Mokyr by Allen (3)

So Allen focus on geopgraphy, Mokyr on institutions & synergy of enlightenment.

Answer 19

Only looks at 79 inventors- only 10 created macro-inventions

Only 50% of inventions had links to enlightenment science, so enlightenment did not drive the whole technological change.

Enlightenment science impacted steam, not textiles (13%) or metals (2%) , other key sectors.

Question 20

Reconciling the 2 views (Craft) first view

Answer 20

Crafts says both matter. I.e combine responsiveness to cheap factor prices (subbing labour) of Britain with the influence of the enlightenment science.

Macro-invention driven by factor prices, some by higher science from enlightenment knowledge transfers.

Micro-invention clearly influenced by skills and incentives

Question 21

Crafts alternative view of technological change

Answer 21

Technology is stochastic. (Luck-based)

Luck, path dependency. (Accidental institutional approach)

England accidentally made crucial inventions to stay ahead. (Macro>micro inventions)

Question 22

Landes’ alternate view on technological change

Answer 22

Many Individual incentive (investors) and entrepreneurial talent in Britain drove tech change.

It’s good having entrepreneurs but needs investors, and Britain had both, thus had tech change.