The wheels of change: Human capital, millwrights, and industrialisation in 18th-century England

Press/Media

Period30 Jan 2020

Media coverage

1

Media coverage

  • TitleThe wheels of change: Human capital, millwrights, and industrialisation in 18th-century England
    Degree of recognitionInternational
    Media name/outletVOX EU Research-based policy analysis and commentary from leading economists
    Media typeWeb
    Duration/Length/Sizeone page
    Country/TerritoryIsrael
    Date30/01/20
    DescriptionThe consensus among economic historians has been that Britain’s leadership during the Industrial Revolution owed little to the school system. But recent work on human capital suggests that we should rethink this consensus on the role of human capital. This column shows how millwrights – highly skilled carpenters who specialised in constructing and repairing watermills – had a persistent effect on the mechanisation of textile- and iron-making and on the economic expansion that was taking place on the eve of the Industrial Revolution.
    Producer/AuthorCEPR, Richard Baldwin (chief editor)
    URLhttps://voxeu.org/article/human-capital-millwrights-and-industrialisation-18th-century-england
    PersonsKarine Van Der Beek, Assaf Sarid, Joel Mokyr