| Description |
321 pages ; 24 cm |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 285-308) and index. |
| Contents |
The plow -- I. Winners and losers. The gramophone ; Barbed wire ; Seller feedback ; Google search ; Passports ; Robots ; The welfare state -- II. Reinventing how we live. Infant formula ; TV dinners ; The Pill ; Video games ; Market research ; Air-conditioning ; Department stores -- III. Inventing new systems. The dynamo ; The shipping container ; The bar code ; The cold chain ; Tradable debt and the tally stick ; The Billy bookcase ; The elevator -- IV. Ideas about ideas. Cuneiform ; Public-key cryptography ; Double-entry bookkeeping ; Limited liability companies ; Management consulting ; Intellectual property ; The compiler -- V. Where do inventions come from?. The iPhone ; Diesel engines ; Clocks ; Chemical fertilizer ; Radar ; Batteries ; Plastic -- VI. The visible hand. The bank ; Razors and blades ; Tax havens ; Leaded gasoline ; Antibiotics in farming ; M-Pesa ; Property registers -- VII. Inventing the wheel. Paper ; Index funds ; The S-bend ; Paper money ; Concrete ; Insurance -- Conclusion: Looking forward -- Epilogue: The lightbulb |
| Summary |
"Fifty Inventions That Shaped the Modern Economy paints an epic picture of change in an intimate way by telling the stories of the tools, people, and ideas that had far-reaching consequences for all of us. From the plough to artificial intelligence, from Gillette’s disposable razor to IKEA’s Billy bookcase, bestselling author and Financial Times columnist Tim Harford recounts each invention’s own curious, surprising, and memorable story." -- from publisher's description. |
| Subject(S) |
Inventions -- Economic aspects -- History.
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Technological innovations -- Economic aspects -- History.
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Economic history.
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| Added Title |
Fifty inventions that shaped the modern economy |
| ISBN |
9780735216136 (HRD) 28.00 |
|
0735216134 (HRD) 28.00 |
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