The Enlightened Economy: An Economic History of Britain 1700-1850 Contributor(s): Mokyr, Joel (Author) |
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ISBN: 0300189516 ISBN-13: 9780300189513 Publisher: Yale University Press OUR PRICE: $39.60 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: October 2012 |
Additional Information |
BISAC Categories: - History | Europe - Great Britain - General - Business & Economics | Economic History - History | Modern - 18th Century |
Dewey: 330.941 |
Series: New Economic History of Britain |
Physical Information: 1.3" H x 5.8" W x 8.9" (1.63 lbs) 576 pages |
Themes: - Cultural Region - British Isles - Chronological Period - 18th Century - Chronological Period - 1800-1850 |
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
Publisher Description: This book focuses on the importance of ideological and institutional factors in the rapid development of the British economy during the years between the Glorious Revolution and the Crystal Palace Exhibition. Joel Mokyr shows that we cannot understand the Industrial Revolution without recognizing the importance of the intellectual sea changes of Britain's Age of Enlightenment.
In a vigorous discussion, Mokyr goes beyond the standard explanations that credit geographical factors, the role of markets, politics, and society to show that the beginnings of modern economic growth in Britain depended a great deal on what key players knew and believed, and how those beliefs affected their economic behavior. He argues that Britain led the rest of Europe into the Industrial Revolution because it was there that the optimal intersection of ideas, culture, institutions, and technology existed to make rapid economic growth achievable. His wide-ranging evidence covers sectors of the British economy often neglected, such as the service industries. |