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Information technology and economic change: the impact of the printing press

Dittmar, Jeremiah E. ORCID: 0000-0002-3930-4496 (2011) Information technology and economic change: the impact of the printing press. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 126 (3). pp. 1133-1172. ISSN 0033-5533

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Identification Number: 10.1093/qje/qjr035

Abstract

The printing press was the great innovation in early modern information technology, but economists have found no macroeconomic evidence of its impact. This article exploits city-level data. Between 1500 and 1600, European cities where printing presses were established in the 1400s grew 60% faster than otherwise similar cities. Cities that adopted printing in the 1400s had no prior advantage, and the association between adoption and subsequent growth was not due to printers choosing auspicious locations. These findings are supported by regressions that exploit distance from Mainz, Germany—the birthplace of printing—as an instrument for adoption.

Item Type: Article
Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjr035
Additional Information: © 2011 The Author
Divisions: Economics
Subjects: H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)
H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions
JEL classification: N - Economic History > N1 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Growth and Fluctuations > N13 - Europe: Pre-1913
N - Economic History > N3 - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Income, and Wealth > N33 - Economic History: Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Income and Wealth: Europe: Pre-1913
N - Economic History > N9 - Regional and Urban History > N93 - Europe: Pre-1913
O - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth > O1 - Economic Development > O11 - Macroeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
O - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth > O1 - Economic Development > O18 - Regional, Urban, and Rural Analyses
O - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth > O3 - Technological Change; Research and Development > O33 - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
Date Deposited: 16 Oct 2013 13:29
Last Modified: 20 Nov 2024 08:03
URI: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/53580

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