In 1800, shoes in the United States were made by craftsmen, each trained to create an entire shoe. A century later, shoes were mass-produced in factories employing dozens of machines and specialized workers. Ross Thomson describes this transition from craft to mechanized production in one of the largest American industries of the nineteenth century.
Early shoe machinery originated through innovations made by shoemakers, tailors, and especially machinists. It continued to evolve through a process of "learning by selling," in which sales of one generation of machines led to...
In 1800, shoes in the United States were made by craftsmen, each trained to create an entire shoe. A century later, shoes were mass-produced in factor...
In this book, fifteen prominent scholars of the economy, business, and technology argue that technical change can fruitfully be interpreted as an institutionally structured learning process. These essays show that the analysis of knowledge-generating institutions - including firms, industries, patenting systems, and occupations - provides important insights into the pace, direction, and persistence of technological change. The authors use these insights to both reshape economic theory and reinterpret the economic development of Britain, the USA, Germany and Japan.
In this book, fifteen prominent scholars of the economy, business, and technology argue that technical change can fruitfully be interpreted as an inst...
