I must get back to writing my blog on why the Industrial Revolution was 528 years late, if Deirdre McCloskey is to be believed.
I’m not an economic historian, but like most growth economists I am an avid consumer of economic history. Maybe it’s our version of “physics envy”. Regardless, it isn’t always obvious why growth economists look backwards so much for motivation, examples, and inspiration. Let me try to give an example of the usefulness of economic history by looking at recent “big theories” of the British Industrial Revolution (IR).
If you have any interest in learning about the IR, then you could do a lot worse than reading the following two books:
- Joel Mokyr’s The Enlightened Economy: An Economic History of Britain 1700-1850
You’ll find yourself agreeing with Mokyr because the writing is so engaging, so remind yourself to remain skeptical (in the scholarly sense) as you read. - Robert Allen’s The British Industrial Revolution in Global Perspective
You’ll find yourself disagreeing with Allen because he makes it sound too easy, so remind…
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Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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