Ross Thomson – författare

This volume features 15 contributors who 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 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 United States, Germany and Japan. Other titles by Ross Thomson includes "The Path to Mechanized Shoe Production in the United States", "Business and Economic History", " The Journal of Economic History", "The New Palgrave", "Social Concept" and "Technology and Culture".

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 Tomson 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 contined to evolve through a process of ""learning by selling,"" in which sales of one generation of machines led to technological learning and ongoing invention by those who used, serviced, and sold them. As a result of this process, the mechanization of the shoe industry and the manufacturers of the machinery it used -- including such firms as Singer and United Shoe Machinery -- evolved together.In researching the process of industrialization, Thomson examined nearly 8,000 patents. Comparing the patent information with directories for more than eighty American cities, he was able to find out who the inventors were, who employed them, how many patents they held, and the extend to which their inventions were used.A UNC Press Enduring Edition -- UNC Press Enduring Editions use the latest in digital technology to make available again books from our distinguished backlist that were previously out of print. These editions are published unaltered from the original, and are presented in affordable paperback formats, bringing readers both historical and cultural value.

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.