A General-Purpose Technology at Work
The Corliss Steam Engine in the Late-Nineteenth-Century United States
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 10101323 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Nathan Rosenberg (0000-0002-3379-0008, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, corresponding author), Manuel Trajtenberg (Tel Aviv University) |
| Year | 2004 |
| Volume | 64 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 61-99 |
| Publication date | 2004-03-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Journal of Economic History (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0022-0507 • E-ISSN: 1471-6372 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s0022050704002608 |
| OpenAlex | W2085245994 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 39 |
| References cited | 19 |
The contribution to growth from the steam engine—Industrial Revolution icon and prime example of a “General Purpose Technology”—has remained unclear. This article examines the role that a particular design improvement in steam power, embodied in the Corliss engine, played in the growth of the U.S. economy in the late nineteenth century. Using detailed data on the location of Corliss engines and waterwheels and a two-stage estimation strategy, we show that the deployment of Corliss engines served as a catalyst for the industry's massive relocation into large urban centers, thus fueling agglomeration economies and further population growth
Economics · Economy · Industrial Revolution · Political science · Population · Sociology · Steam engine · Economic Growth and Productivity · Engineering · Housing Market and Economics · Law · Mechanical Engineering · Regional Economics and Spatial Analysis
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| Unique citing works | 39 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,86 |
| Citation span | 2005 - 2026 (22) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 39 |