Culture Versus Institutions in the Great Enrichment

Abstract Is there a connection between the Industrial Revolution and the eighteenth century Enlightenment? The Enlightenment was a very broad cultural movement with many moving parts, but the one most relevant to economic history is what is known as the Industrial Enlightenment, a movement that directly advocated institutions that supported and promoted the accumulation and dissemination of technological progress and economic growth. These institutions included those that directly helped incentivize the accumulation of useful knowledge such as patronage and reputation effects, as well as patents, prizes, and other rewards to successful inventors. The movement also supported dissemination of knowledge through scholarly societies, publications, and various informal networks. The chapter concludes that both culture and the institutions it supported created a fertile ground for the rapid economic growth ignited by the Industrial Revolution.