An Economic History of British Steam Engines, 1774-1870

Haris Kitsikopoulos is the creator and academic director of a program of advanced summer seminars (Unbound Prometheus) and a former Clinical Professor at the Economics Department of New York University, USA. His work focuses on British economic history, from the Middle Ages to the Industrial Revolution, with particular emphasis on how institutions affect technological innovation and long-term economic growth. He has edited a collection of essays on the European economies of the late Middle Ages (Agrarian Change and Crisis in Europe, 1200-1500) and authored a book on the first generation of British steam engines (Innovation and Technological Diffusion: An Economic History of Early Steam Engines). He is also the author of several articles some of which appeared in leading journals in the field of economic history (e.g., Journal of Economic History, Economic History Review, and Agricultural History Review). Dr. Kitsikopoulos has been invited as a Visiting Scholar at the University of Tokyo and has held research fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities (twice) and the Smithsonian. He is also the recipient of the Henry Allen Moe Prize, awarded for the best article published in the journal of the American Philosophical Society, the oldest academic institution in the US.

PART 1: 1774-1800.- Chapter 1. The Extent of Steam Power Diffusion in Britain, 1774-1800: A Revision.- Chapter 2. Engineering Skills and the Efficiency of Steam Engines During Watt's Patent.- Chapter 3. The Annual Cost of Watt vs. Newcomen Engines During the Duration of Watt's Patent and the Threshold Price of Coal.- Chapter 4. The Cost of Alternative Power Sources in the Late Eighteenth Century: A Comparative Perspective.- PART 2: 1800-1870.- Chapter 5. The Emergence of High-ressure Cornish Engines: The Role of the Patent System and the Theory of Collective Invention.- Chapter 6. The Evolution of Cornish Duties and the Expansion of the Engineering Industry.- Chapter 7. Comparative Costs and the Diffusion of Steam and Water Power, 1800-70.- Chapter 8. Steam Power in Transportation: Railways.- Chapter 9. Dead Ends in the History of Technology: The Case of Steam Cars.- Chapter 10. Epilogue.

"The book is a superb compendium of detailed micro-economic research, built on a thorough investigation of the secondary literature augmented substantially by Professor Kitsikopoulos's own investigations. ... I thoroughly recommend the book as a varied and detailed historical compendium of technological diffusion for wide set of academic audiences. ... Professor Kitsikopoulos has done a superb job of thoroughly investigating and synthesising these in this excellent book." (James Fowler, Business History, January 30, 2024)