Exploring the Black Box: Technology, Economics, and History

by Nathan Rosenberg

This book presents a unique account of how technological change is generated and the processes by which improved technologies are introduced into economic activity. The central theme of the book is the idea that technological changes are often "path dependent": their form and direction tend to be influenced strongly by the particular sequence of earlier events out of which a new technology has emerged. Individual chapters explore the particular features of new technologies in different historical and sectoral contexts.

Genres: Economics, History, Technology

288 pages, Paperback

First published March 10, 1994

About the author

Dr. Nathan Rosenberg was an economist who specialized in the history of technology.

Rosenberg received Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin in 1955, and taught at Indiana University (1955–1957), the University of Pennsylvania (1957–1961), Purdue University (1961–1964), Harvard University (1967–1969), the University of Wisconsin (1969–1974), and then Stanford University until his retirement.