"Mokyr's central insight is that the explosion of sustained economic growth beginning around 1750 resulted from an unprecedented accumulation and circulation of what he terms "useful knowledge." Joel Mokyr, Intellectual Property Rights, the Industrial Revolution, and the Beginnings of Modern Economic Growth, 99 Am. Econ. Rev. 349 (2009). This useful knowledge encompasses both propositional knowledge (understanding laws of nature and scientific principles) and prescriptive knowledge (understanding how to do things through practical techniques and skills)."
"What made the Industrial Revolution revolutionary was not simply the existence of clever inventions, but rather the creation of positive feedback loops between scientific understanding and practical application, amplified by new institutions and cultural norms that encouraged the wide dissemination of both types of knowledge. The Enlightenment subsequently fostered what Mokyr calls an "Industrial Enlightenment" where artisans began engaging with natural philosophy and knowledge became viewed as a public good meant to improve human welfare rather than a proprietary secret to be guarded."
Sustained economic growth beginning around 1750 resulted from an unprecedented accumulation and circulation of 'useful knowledge.' Useful knowledge included propositional knowledge—understanding laws of nature and scientific principles—and prescriptive knowledge—practical techniques and skills. Positive feedback loops formed between scientific understanding and practical application, amplified by institutions and cultural norms encouraging broad dissemination. The Enlightenment fostered an 'Industrial Enlightenment' in which artisans engaged with natural philosophy and treated knowledge as a public good to improve human welfare rather than a proprietary secret. Encyclopedias, technical journals, public lectures, and demonstrations accelerated diffusion. Institutional arrangements that promote open circulation of knowledge proved more crucial than patent-centric systems for long-run innovation.
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