This British economist, writer, and broadcaster here discusses 50 inventions that have had a major impact on the modern economy. These range from the obvious, such as the plow, the
the shipping container, paper, the pill and the light bulb, to the obscure such as the the Billy bookcase and the plumbing S-bend. The choice of what to include is necessarily arbitrary; the romp through the history of their invention is entertaining and very educational, a broad brush stroke of the history of invention, but somewhat constricted to those of major economic importance, or at least of importance to economists.
This is the kind of book that can be read in airport lounges, or when you have short gaps in your leisure time. one short chapter at a time, without losing track of the whole. And if an invention does not interest you, skipping a chapter will not detract from the value of the book.
Not all of the inventions have had a positive impact, witness leaded gasoline and antibiotics in farming, which are discussed with careful balance. The discussion of the contributions of governments in the encouragement or suppression of innovation is likewise balanced and enlightening.
The elimination of lead as a gasoline additive coincided chronologically and geographically in the U.S. with with a decrease in crime rates. But this is correlation (albeit with a plausible physiological cause-and-effect explanation) not a proof of cause and effect. An alternative explanation for that correlation is postulated by another rogue economist, Stephen Levitt in Freakonomics- that the decrease in crime rates was due to the decrease in the population of unwanted children resulting from the Roe vs Wade 1973 ruling. Who is right, or are they both?
Humour is sprinkled throughout and Harford shows a keen appreciation of irony, for instance relating that Thomas Midgley, the inventor of leaded gasoline was treated for lead poisoning before advocating for addition of tetraethyl lead to gasoline, and was later strangled to death by one of his own serial inventions. Names of famous inventors are interspersed with names of people I had ever heard of who made equal unrecognized contributions.
The list does not include some things that seem obvious candidates for the list to this non-economist. Why are the inventions of the Wright Brothers, Alexander Graham Bell, Alexander Fleming, Marie Curie, and Marconi not included? While Otis’s elevator makes the cut, the construction crane that facilitates the building of skyscrapers needing elevators does not. And while the agricultural use of antibiotics is included, the invention of the microscope that allowed for the discovery of all manner of microorganisms is not. The S-bend in plumbing prevented the stench of raw sewage from backing up into London homes via the new-fangled indoor toilets, but surely the sewage treatment processes that convert the raw sewage into potable water was equally important but is never mentioned. The internal combustion engine and the assembly line also failed to make the cut. Perhaps he is saving them for his next book?
I generally avoid books that promise a list in their title as they tend to be preachy self-help pap, but this is a highly educational, light, easily digested read that I highly recommend. Thanks, Tony.
The Passionate Reader 