The economic effects of technological progress according to the classicists

Abstract

The issue of technology played a significant role not only in the advancement of economic science but furthermore in explaining some developmental process. The main purpose of this paper is to analyse and evaluate the various ideas and arguments of the Classical writers on the economic effects of machinery. These effects are analysed and discussed under the following
headings, which consist the relevant sections of the paper: (1) on productivity and the level of prices; (2) on the rate of profits and investments; and (3) on the rate of real wages and the level of employment. These effects moreover are examined in the light of various empirical data and modern theoretical arguments. From the analysis is deduced that the Classicists have recognized
and analysed the majority of the various economic effects caused by the introduction of new technology and had incorporated them into the corpus of Economics

JEL Classification: B12