when | 2014 | |
who | Aurelian P. Plopeanu Peter Foldvari Bas van Leeuwen Jan Luiten Van Zanden |
|
what journal | European Journal of Science and Theology | |
what paper | Where Do Ideas Come from? The Relation between Book Production and Patents from the Industrial Revolution to the Present | |
language | English |
involved project member(s)
Bas van Leeuwen | Peter Foldvari |
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abstract
Recently, more and more use is made from book production as a measure of the long-run development of human capital. However, its relation with technology and growth is often found to be small and changing over time. In this paper we try to establish the link between book production and the spread of “ideas” as proxied by patents both over time and between regions. Two mechanisms may be distinguished. First, in the initial phase of economic development, the production of books may stimulate the accumulation of knowledge already present in society. After such an accumulation is complete, books may advance a common research focus within a certain geographic space. Indeed, applying this to the case of England, we find that books had a significant role on the number of patents during the second Industrial Revolution. However, when education became increasingly important, the role of books eventually broke down in the second half of the twentieth century. This pattern does not hold true for less developed regions where, due to the lack of efficient education, linguistic fragmentation, an overwhelmingly oral culture, and a structural different kind of knowledge, book production stagnated and no knowledge could be imported (for example, via translated books).
keywords
book production, patents, ideas, education, economic development
citation format
MLA |
Plopeanu, Aurelian P., et al. “Where do Ideas come from? The relation between book production and patents from the Industrial Revolution to the present.” (2014).
|
APA |
Plopeanu, A. P., Foldvari, P., van Leeuwen, B., & Van Zanden, J. L. (2014). Where do Ideas come from? The relation between book production and patents from the Industrial Revolution to the present.
|
Chicago |
Plopeanu, Aurelian P., Peter Foldvari, Bas van Leeuwen, and Jan Luiten Van Zanden. “Where do Ideas come from? The relation between book production and patents from the Industrial Revolution to the present.” (2014).
|
Harvard |
Plopeanu, A.P., Foldvari, P., van Leeuwen, B. and Van Zanden, J.L., 2014. Where do Ideas come from? The relation between book production and patents from the Industrial Revolution to the present.
|
Vancouver |
Plopeanu AP, Foldvari P, van Leeuwen B, Van Zanden JL. Where do Ideas come from? The relation between book production and patents from the Industrial Revolution to the present.
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