Abstract
Economists have come to use the term ‘general purpose technology’ (GPT) to describe technological advances that pervade many sectors, improve rapidly, and spawn further innovations. This article addresses the concept of a GPT by example, showing the extent to which electricity and information technology might qualify as members of this special class of inventions, as opposed to more ordinary ones.
Keywords
- Diffusion of technology
- Electricity
- General purpose technologies
- Growth, models of
- Information technology and economic growth
- Innovation
- Intertemporal substitution
- Patents
- Productivity growth
- Skill premium
- Technical change
JEL Classifications
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsBibliography
Berndt, E.R., E.R. Dulberger, and N.J. Rappaport. 2000. Price and quality of desktop and mobile personal computers: A quarter century of history. Working paper. Cambridge, MA: Sloan School of Management, MIT.
Bresnahan, T.F., and M. Trajtenberg. 1995. General purpose technologies: Engines of growth? Journal of Econometrics 65: 83–108.
David, P.A. 1991. Computer and dynamo: The modern productivity paradox in a not- too-distant mirror. In Technology and productivity: The challenge for economic policy. Paris: OECD.
DuBoff, R.B. 1964. Electric power in American manufacturing, 1889–1958. Ph.D. thesis, University of Pennsylvania.
Field, A. 2003. The most technologically progressive decade of the century. American Economic Review 93: 1399–1414.
Gordon, R.J. 1990. The measurement of durable goods prices. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Hobijn, B., and B. Jovanovic. 2001. The IT revolution and the stock market: Evidence. American Economic Review 91: 1203–1220.
Jovanovic, B., and P.L. Rousseau. 2001. Why wait? A century of life before IPO. American Economic Review Papers and Proceedings 91: 336–341.
Jovanovic, B., and P.L. Rousseau. 2002. The Q-theory of mergers. American Economic Review Papers and Proceedings 92: 198–204.
Kortum, S., and J. Lerner. 1998. Stronger protection or technological revolution: What is behind the recent surge in patenting? Carnegie-Rochester Conference Series on Public Policy 48: 247–304.
US Bureau of Economic Analysis. 2004. Survey of current business. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
US Census Bureau. 1975. Historical statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
US Census Bureau (various years). Statistical abstract of the United States. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
Acknowledgments
The author acknowledges financial support from the National Science Foundation.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Copyright information
© 2018 Macmillan Publishers Ltd.
About this entry
Cite this entry
Rousseau, P.L. (2018). General Purpose Technologies. In: The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95189-5_2037
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95189-5_2037
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-95188-8
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-95189-5
eBook Packages: Economics and FinanceReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences