First Published in 1987. This volume reviews and assesses the literature on the impact of the economic forces on the rate and direction of technical change. Areas covered include the economic of invention and innovation, the evolution of thought and of empirical tests of induced innovation, the evolution of thought and of the empirical tests of induced innovation, the role of demand and supply in the diffusion of technical change. Specific attention is given to an emerging body of literature that attempts to integrate the process of invention, diffusion and reinvention. The review indicates that substantial progress has been made in modeling the process of technical change as endogenous to the economic system and in testing the induced innovation hypothesis against historical experience. The book concludes by drawing implications for research and economic development policy and will provide graduate students and professional in economics, agricultural economics, development studies and geography and technology forecasting with a sound review of the literature of technical change.
