Mr. Woodcroft and the Value of English Patents, 1617-1841

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• Alessandro Nuvolari, Sant' School of Advanced Studies in Pisa
• Monday 25 January 2010, 13:00-14:00
• Main seminar Room, Geography Department Building.

If you have a question about this talk, please contact Dr Natalia Mora-Sitja.

We examine the potentialities of a new indicator for measuring the value of English patents in the period 1617-1841. The indicator is based on the relative visibility of each individual patent in the contemporary technical and legal literature as summarized in Bennet Woodcroft’s Reference Index of Patents of Invention. We conclude that the indicator provides a reasonable proxy for the value of patents and that it can be usefully employed to shed light on the timing and nature of innovation during the Industrial Revolution. In particular, our indicator offers a suitable reconciliation between the patent records evidence and the Crafts-Harley view of the Industrial Revolution.

This talk is part of the Economic and Social History Seminars series.

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• Economic and Social History Seminars
• Main seminar Room, Geography Department Building
• history

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