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The returns to invention during the British industrial revolution

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  • Sean Bottomley

Abstract

It was a commonplace among contemporaries, and remains received wisdom today, that inventors were poorly remunerated during the industrial revolution. Adapting a dataset of 759 British inventors, this article presents the first large‐scale attempt to examine the issue systematically. Using probate information, the article shows that inventors were extremely wealthy relative to the adult male population. Inventors were also significantly wealthier than another group who would have received a similar inheritance (in terms of both financial and social capital) and entered similar occupations: their brothers. Their additional wealth was derived from inventive activities: invention paid.

Suggested Citation

  • Sean Bottomley, 2019. "The returns to invention during the British industrial revolution," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 72(2), pages 510-530, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ehsrev:v:72:y:2019:i:2:p:510-530
    DOI: 10.1111/ehr.12701
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    Cited by:

    1. Berger, Thor & Prawitz, Erik, 2024. "Inventors among the “Impoverished Sophisticate”," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 84(4), pages 1175-1207, December.
    2. Nicholas Crafts, 2021. "Understanding productivity growth in the industrial revolution," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 74(2), pages 309-338, May.
    3. Peter Maw & Peter Solar & Aidan Kane & John S. Lyons, 2022. "After the great inventions: technological change in UK cotton spinning, 1780–1835," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 75(1), pages 22-55, February.

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