Knowledge and Technological Change in Different Schools of Economic Thought

Madrid

Congreso; 22° Annual Conference ESHET; 2018

European Society for the History of Economic Thought (Eshet)

Knowledge and Technological Change in Different Schools of Economic ThoughtThe generation of knowledge and technological change, and its relation to economic issues, has been always present in the works of the economists. The speed and depth of technological change that has developed with the globalization process nowadays requires more than ever before to reflect critically on the way that the economists have considered the creation, diffusion and adaptation of technology and innovation.A correct analysis of current capitalism requires an indispensable understanding of the dynamics of technological changes and their effects on the economy. Innovation is fundamental for less developed capitalist economies to reduce the gap between them and the central capitalist countries.In this paper, a brief review of the different analytical perspectives used by economic schools throughout history to analyse the topic of technology is made. The relevance of technological changes was very different in each of these theoretical paradigms and had different levels of importance at different historical moments. The ideas of the classical economists (Smith, Ricardo, etc..), the socialists and Marx, Schumpeter?s ideas, the neo-classical school, and the Keynesian view, are considered.