Why

is the concept of national technology useful to describe one of the sources of US rise
to economic/technological leadership (and why might it be less useful today)?

The U.S. national technology has supposed a remarkable factor in explaining their
leadership since the nineteenth century. Apart from their favorable conditions of cheap
resources, the development of new ways to face technological challenges made a
difference with respect to other nations. These advancements involved not only engineers
but also scientists, firms and even institutions, which shaped a national technological
community non reachable for many other developed countries.

Technological breakthroughs were both complex and sustained. Engineers,
scientists and inventors often shared the same geographic area so that information and
knowledge was easily transferable. American firms were conscious of the importance of
technological improvement and implied time and effort to set their industries at the
forefront of technology. There was a phenomenon of collective invention and an intense
national identity, which, together with a problem-solving environment, led to the
configuration of a national technology that could compete with other industrialized
European countries as Germany or Britain. This way, American products found a place in
the international market. Though other nations had a long experience in mature sectors
such as metallurgy, the U.S. industry caught up the leading countries. Manufacturing
industries also worked on a greater scale and were managed according to scientific
organizing principles. After the 1880s wave of innovations, Americans wide range of
products went from consumer goods to machine tools, impressing the world with their
technical achievements.

Globalization has been one of the main factors in explaining the decadence of
national technology as a factor of American leadership. Nowadays there is an important
flux of information, which usually prevents firms from keeping their innovations secret.
Just as the U.S. did by taking as a reference the innovations from Europe, some countries
are also catching up the leading ones. As borders slowly become less restrictive and the
internationalization of trade and technology gain ground, the concept of national
technology turns obsolete.




Guillermo Ortega Ortiz
Economic History, Group 32
Double Degree in Law - Economics