Sources for Economic Development in the Industrialized World: 19th & 20th Century Technology & Science

Abstract

Science and technology have in-fact been the driving force behind the economic improvement of the developed world. Advances in science and technology have provided the knowledge to significantly reduce poverty while simultaneously improving the quality of life in developed countries throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. Specifically, major technological advances in agriculture, transportation, public health, education, manufacturing and energy have contributed to the enormous present day disparity that exists between the developed and under-developed nations of the world. History has proven that science and technology are critical components for both sustained economic development as well as poverty alleviation. This paper aims to specify, as well as explain the progression of the most significant sources of science and technology of which were responsible for the economic improvement in the “Developed World” during the 19th & 20th Centuries.

Keywords: Evolutionary Economics, Science, Technology, Growth, Industrialization

JEL Classification: O14, O310, O40