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Cambridge Journal of Economics Advance Access published online on March 31, 2009
Cambridge Journal of Economics, doi:10.1093/cje/bep009
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© The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Cambridge Political Economy Society. All rights reserved.

Accumulation of knowledge and accumulation of capital in early ‘theories’ of growth and development

Renee Prendergast*

* Queen's University, Belfast. The author wishes to thank Tony Brewer and two referees of this journal for helpful comments on an earlier draft of this paper

Address for correspondence: School of Management and Economics, Queen's University, Belfast BT7 1NN, UK; email: r.prendergast{at}qub.ac.uk

This paper argues that prior to Adam Smith economic progress was largely conceived as being based on the accumulation of knowledge. The development by Turgot and Smith of a concept of capital that subsumed other factors contributing to development led their followers to focus on capital to the neglect of the independent role of knowledge. The paper demonstrates that this paradigmatic shift was identified and challenged by Bentham, Hodgskin and Rae who argued for the independent role of innovation but without lasting impact.

Key Words: Knowledge • Capital • Accumulation • Innovation

JEL classifications: B11, B12, O10, O30

Manuscript received October 19, 2007; final version received December 12, 2008.


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