Understanding successive industrial revolutions: A “development block” approach

Abstract

This paper provides a reappraisal of the literature on “long waves” and “general purpose technologies”. This approach is still widely used to characterize long run trends of technological change and economic development since the first industrial revolution. Notwithstanding providing some useful insights, it is argued that this approach is rooted in a too rigid historical chronology positing a tight connection between technological change to economic outcomes. On these grounds, the paper suggests that a more flexible interpretative framework based on the notion of successive industrial revolutions and “development blocks” may offer a more accurate historical account and be more useful for providing insights for innovation and sustainability policies.