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Does brick size matter? Albert G. Keller on another QWERTY story

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Listed:
  • Fiorito, Luca
  • Vatiero, Massimiliano

Abstract

In his seminal “Clio and the Economics of Qwerty”, Paul David indicates Thorstein Veblen’s famous discussion of the British system of coal rail haulage as an intellectual antecedent to the idea of lock in. This note documents how Albert G. Keller, a Yale sociologist contemporary of Veblen, had presented a similar argument in connection to the establishment of a brick tax in England and its effects on the size of bricks. Like Veblen, Keller used this illustration to emphasize the inertia exercised by certain institutional conditions.

Suggested Citation

  • Fiorito, Luca & Vatiero, Massimiliano, 2023. "Does brick size matter? Albert G. Keller on another QWERTY story," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 223(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolet:v:223:y:2023:i:c:s0165176522004487
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econlet.2022.110974
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Liebowitz, S J & Margolis, Stephen E, 1990. "The Fable of the Keys," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 33(1), pages 1-25, April.
    2. Veblen, Thorstein, 1915. "Imperial Germany and The Industrial Revolution," History of Economic Thought Books, McMaster University Archive for the History of Economic Thought, number veblen1915.
    3. Stan J. Liebowitz & Stephen E. Margolis, 2013. "The Troubled Path Of The Lock-In Movement," Journal of Competition Law and Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 9(1), pages 125-152.
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    Cited by:

    1. Fiorito, Luca & Erasmo, Valentina, 2024. "Between Sumner and Galton," SocArXiv 58qzy, Center for Open Science.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    QWERTY keyboard; Institutional lag; Lock in;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • B15 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought through 1925 - - - Historical; Institutional; Evolutionary
    • D01 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Microeconomic Behavior: Underlying Principles
    • H30 - Public Economics - - Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents - - - General
    • N60 - Economic History - - Manufacturing and Construction - - - General, International, or Comparative

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