Mokyr (1990) — The Lever of Riches

Citation. Mokyr, Joel. The Lever of Riches: Technological Creativity and Economic Progress. Oxford University Press, 1990.

Summary

Mokyr’s first book-length argument for the central role of technological creativity in long-run economic history, and the substrate from which his subsequent Gifts of Athena, Enlightened Economy, and Culture of Growth developed. The book surveys the full long arc of technological history — from classical antiquity through the Industrial Revolution to the early 20th century — and asks why some societies sustain technological progress while others stagnate. The framework that emerged from this book has shaped Mokyr’s entire subsequent program: the distinction between macroinventions (rare, discontinuous breakthroughs that open new possibilities) and microinventions (incremental improvements that exploit and refine the macroinventions), and the proposition that what matters most for long-run growth is the institutional and cultural conditions under which both kinds of invention are possible.

The Lever of Riches introduces the comparative framework Mokyr would extend in A Culture of Growth: why did the Roman, Song Chinese, and medieval Islamic civilizations produce great inventions but not sustain cumulative technological progress, while early-modern Europe did? The answer, in nascent form, is what he later calls the “useful knowledge” / open-knowledge ecosystem.

Key claims

• Long-run technological progress is the principal driver of long-run economic growth.
• Technological history shows two distinct dynamics: macroinventions (rare breakthroughs) and microinventions (incremental refinements). Both are necessary for sustained progress; the second is more sensitive to institutional context.
• Many pre-industrial civilizations produced great inventions; few sustained cumulative technological progress. The difference lies in the institutional and cultural environment for sustained microinvention and exploitation.
• The Industrial Revolution was historically novel not in its level of technological achievement but in the sustained character of its technological progress.
• Understanding what produces cumulative technological creativity is the central question of long-run economic history.