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Did globalisation aid industrial development in colonial India? A study of knowledge transfer in the iron industry

Roy, Tirthankar ORCID: 0000-0002-4183-2781 (2009) Did globalisation aid industrial development in colonial India? A study of knowledge transfer in the iron industry. Indian Economic and Social History Review, 46 (4). pp. 579-613. ISSN 0019-4646

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Identification Number: 10.1177/001946460904600404

Abstract

The article explores the link between international economic integration and technological capability in colonial India. The example of the iron industry shows that many new ideas and skills flowed into India from Europe, but not all met with commercial success. The essay suggests a reason why. In those fields in which the costs of complementary factors were relatively low, the chance of success was higher. This condition was present in the craft of the blacksmith, in which the main complementary input was abundant craftsmanship. The condition was slow to develop in iron-smelting, where the costs of fuel, labour, capital and carriage of ore were initially high.

Item Type: Article
Official URL: http://ier.sagepub.com/
Additional Information: © 2009 SAGE Publications
Divisions: Economic History
Subjects: H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions
D History General and Old World > DS Asia
Date Deposited: 13 Mar 2010 18:10
Last Modified: 01 Nov 2024 05:19
URI: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/27396

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