Technological Change as Historical Process: The Case of the U.S. Pulp and Paper Industry, 1915–1940
- 1 September 1984
- journal article
- Published by Cambridge University Press (CUP) in The Journal of Economic History
- Vol. 44 (3) , 775-799
- https://doi.org/10.1017/s0022050700032368
Abstract
Technological changes in the U.S. pulp and paper industry between 1915 and 1940 are chronicled, and three patterns—evolutionary bias, output-increasing innovation in response to technological disequilibria, and differences in the timing of innovations between the 1920s and 1930s—are identified and explained by means of a theoretical framework for induced innovation. The framework conceptualizes technological change as a means for growth-seeking firms to overcome barriers to accumulation and provides a general explanation of induced innovation that is situated in historical time.Keywords
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