Universität zu Köln

Cinnirella, Francesco, Hornung, Erik ORCID: 0000-0002-2313-7080 and Koschnick, Julius (2025). Flow of Ideas: Economic Societies and the Rise of Useful Knowledge. The Economic Journal, 135 (669). pp. 1496-1535. Oxford University Press. ISSN 1468-0297

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Abstract

Economic societies emerged during the late eighteenth century. We argue that these institutions reduced the costs of accessing useful knowledge by adopting, producing and diffusing new ideas. Combining location information for the universe of 3,300 members across active economic societies in Germany with those of patent holders and World’s Fair exhibitors, we show that regions with more members were more innovative in the late nineteenth century. This long-lasting effect of societies arguably arose through agglomeration economies and localised knowledge spillovers. To support this claim, we provide evidence suggesting an immediate increase in manufacturing, an earlier establishment of vocational schools and a higher density of highly skilled mechanical workers by the mid-nineteenth century in regions with more members. We also show that regions with members from the same society had higher similarity in industrial production and patenting, suggesting that societies facilitated spatial knowledge diffusion and, to some extent, shaped the direction of technological progress.

Item Type:	Article
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID ORCID Put Code Cinnirella, Francesco UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Hornung, Erik UNSPECIFIED https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2313-7080 UNSPECIFIED Koschnick, Julius UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED
URN:	urn:nbn:de:hbz:38-797461
Identification Number:	10.1093/ej/ueae115
Journal or Publication Title:	The Economic Journal
Volume:	135
Number:	669
Page Range:	pp. 1496-1535
Number of Pages:	40
Date:	30 June 2025
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
ISSN:	1468-0297
Language:	English
Faculty:	Faculty of Management, Economy and Social Sciences
Divisions:	Faculty of Management, Economics and Social Sciences > Economics > Microeconomics, Institutions and markets > Professorship for Economic and Entrepreneurial History
Subjects:	Economics
['eprint_fieldname_oa_funders' not defined]:	Publikationsfonds UzK
Refereed:	Yes
URI:	http://kups.ub.uni-koeln.de/id/eprint/79746