ABSTRACT
The process of economic growth and industrial performance has been studied by economists and economic historians for several decades. During the post-war period the interest in these studies increased substantially and new insights into the growth process were gained, especially since the residual or ‘technic’ factor was ‘discovered’. A thorough theoretical and practical technical education is necessary and has been so at least from those nineteenth-century years when the science-based industries generally assumed a leading position in the industrial sector of the economies. The information available from certain studies can be seen to suggest that the nineteenth-century German labour market for the highly qualified engineers was balanced. The low social esteem in which the English engineer was held, and his limited career chances, were also part of these effects. The technical qualifications of engineers is an important factor, along with the social standing of an education and occupation in engineering.
