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Davis Kedrosky

@dkedrosky

15 Oct

Britain's pre-WWI industrial supersession by America and Germany was inevitable: a (long) thread: ⬇️ 1/

The Great Exhibition of 1851 is commonly regarded as the zenith of early British industrialization, with the great Crystal Palace displaying the wonders of British technology before the visiting public. 2/

The next twenty years also saw the fastest GDP per capita growth in British history, rising to 2.06 percent until 1873. Exports (two-thirds of which were manufactured goods) tripled. 3/

Read 39 tweets

Davis Kedrosky

@dkedrosky

7 Oct

Glass: the most underrated medieval technology? (thread) 1/

Europeans had been making glass since the Late Bronze Age (and Egyptians even earlier), but despite considerable advances in the Hellenistic and Roman periods, the product was rough and opaque. 2/

During the 13th century, however, Venetian glassmakers on the island of Murano—where they had been confined by the city's government to prevent the spread of fires and trade secrets—discovered new techniques for making a durable and transparent product. 3/

Read 14 tweets

Davis Kedrosky

@dkedrosky

24 Sep

Why British financial institutions delayed the Industrial Revolution: a thread. 1/

We've talked in previous posts about two key puzzles about the Industrial Revolution: one, that growth was very slow; and two, that savings rates were comparatively low. 2/

Given the spate of new technologies emerging at the end of the eighteenth century, neither should have been true. Technical change increases the returns to capital formation, so Britons should have invested, increasing output. 3/

Read 23 tweets

Davis Kedrosky

@dkedrosky

21 Sep

Someone recently asked for a list of the books that I've been listening to while running. So, without further ado:

RUNNING AUDIOBOOK POWER RANKINGS (in descending order):

10. Anthony, David W. The Horse, the Wheel, and Language: How Bronze-Age Riders from the Eurasian Steppes Shaped the Modern World

The rating is unfair, because it's better than several ahead. My lack of domain expertise meant I enjoyed parts (esp. first 1/3) more than the whole.

9. Abulafia, David. The Great Sea: A Human History of the Mediterranean

A truly sweeping, panoramic regional history, reaching for Braudel-ian scope and sometimes succeeding. A fantastic introductory book in political history terms, if a bit light on social and economic aspects.

Read 11 tweets

Davis Kedrosky

@dkedrosky

17 Sep

Did energy constraints really stop the Dutch from industrializing? A thread: 1/

In 1650, the most developed country in Europe was the Dutch Republic, not England. High living standards were accompanied and supported by unprecedented urbanization and agricultural productivity. 2/

Some associate the 17th c. "Dutch Golden Age" with the carrying trade, but while commerce provided some capital, the Netherlands really grew because of industry—it exported a wide range of manufactured goods, from finished textiles and sawn timber to beer and refined sugar. 3/

Read 22 tweets

Davis Kedrosky

@dkedrosky

31 Aug

Did Britain sacrifice the Industrial Revolution to defeat Napoleon? A thread: 1/

We've long known that growth during the classic IR of 1760-1820 was slow, and that major increases in real GDP per capita did not really occur until the early nineteenth century. 2/

What we're less sure about is why. One popular rationale—to which I largely subscribe—stressed inherent factors, such as the lag-times in technological adoption, development, and diffusion, or the inevitably slow rate at which the "modern" sector outgrows lagging sectors. 3/

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