Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book covers the growth experiences of Great Britain, France, Germany, the US, and Japan and it focuses on periods of technological change and the rise of new growth industries. It analyzes the rise of the cotton textile industry during the early Industrial Revolution and contrasts the overwhelming success of Britain with the far more moderate achievements of France. The book focuses on iron during the early to mid-nineteenth century, where again the overwhelming success of Britain is contrasted with the very partial success of France. It also focuses on industries stemming from breakthroughs in information and communication technologies (ICTs), and deals with problems of a different nature. Economic growth takes place when capital accumulates more rapidly than the growth of the labour force, thus leading to higher output per capita through increased productivity.