As Time Goes By: From the Industrial Revolutions to the Information Revolution

by Chris Freeman, Francisco Louïï

Overview

The Internet and mobile telephones have made everyone more aware than ever of the computer revolution and its effects on the economy and society. 'As Time Goes By' puts this revolution in the perspective of previous waves of technical change: steam-powered mechanization, electrification, and motorization. It argues for a theory of reasoned economic history which assigns a central place to these successive technological revolutions.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199241071
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	05/03/2001
Pages:	424
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Chris Freeman is Emeritus Professor at SPRU, University of Sussex. After studying at the London School of Economics, he later took up the position of Research Fellow at the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, London (1959-66) before becoming Director of the Science Policy Research Unit at the University of Susex (1966-81). His most recent position was Visiting Professor at the University of Limburg in Maastricht (1986-96). He is the author of numerous books including 'The Economics of Industrial Innovation' (with L. Soete, Pinter, 1997); 'Work for All or Mass Unemployment: Computerised Technical Change into the 21st Century' (with L. Soete, Pinter, 1994); and 'Technology and Economic Performance: Lessons from Japan' (Pinter, 1987). Francisco Louçã is Professor of Economics in the Faculty of Economics and Management at the ISEG, Lisbon. He obtained his Ph.D. in Economics at the University of Lisbon under the supervision of Chris Freeman, subsequently publishing his thesis in both English and Portuguese ('Turbulence in Economics', Edward Elgar 1997). In 1999 he was elected Member of Parliament in Portugal, and serves in the Economic and Budgetary Commission.

Table of Contents

Part I: History and EconomicsIntroduction: The Fundamental Things Apply1. Restless Clio: A Story of the Economic Historians' Assessment of History in Economics2. Schumpeter's Plea for Reasoned History3. Nikolai Kondratiev: A New Approach to History and Statistics4. The Strange Attraction of Tides and WavesConclusions: A Theory of Reasoned HistoryPart II: Successive Industrial RevolutionsIntroduction: Technical Change and Long Waves in Economic Development5. The British Industrial Revolution: The Age of Cotton, Iron, and Water Power6. The Second Kondratiev Wave: The Age of Iron Railways, Steam Power, and Mechanization7. The Third Kondratiev Wave: The Age of Steel, Heavy Engineering, and Electrification8. The Fourth Kondratiev Wave: The Great Depression and the Age of Oil, Automobiles, Motorization, and Mass Production9. The Emergence of a New Techno-economic Paradigm: The Age of Information and Communication TechnologyConclusions: Recurrent Phenomena of the Long Waves of Capitalist Development