Electricity has penetrated deeply into virtually every aspect of American life, be it in industry, the home, or in the rapidly growing commercial and service sectors. This book documents and analyzes the existence of a strong, and growing, synergy between technological progress and the use of electrified production techniques in the United States during the twentieth century. The authors use two types of information in their work: case studies of the ways in which technological progress in particular industries and economic sectors has depended upon the adoption of electrified methods of production and aggregative long-term national economic statistics that measure the changing relationship over time between increases in the use of electricity and other factor inputs and the growth in industrial productivity. Eleven of the book's thirteen chapters cover the case studies, while the remaining two chapters and the statistical appendix contain the broad quantitative findings and supporting data.

In their analysis, the authors address three inter-related questions from a long-term evolutionary perspective: Why has electricity's share of total energy risen so sharply over the years? How has this rise been related to productivity growth? and Why has the rise in electricity led to long-term improvements in the efficiency of overall energy use despite the thermal energy losses sustained when fuels are converted into electricity? The answer to these questions, they contend, is the technological progress represented by electrified production technologies, and in the new ways of organizing production that are now possible. The different ways in which electrical energy has been put to work, and with what results, are examined in the various case studies presented, and further documented in the aggregative statistical analysis. This study reveals the important role that the electrification of production operations has played in supporting productivity growth in manufacturing and other economic sectors in the past, and the important part that it can continue to play in the future. This book will appeal to a broad spectrum of readers; those interested in productivity issues, energy policy, electricity in general, historians of technology, economic historians, and those interested in current technological issues. It will be a necessary acquisition for college and university libraries, as well as those individuals interested in energy, technology, economic growth, history, and the interfaces among them.

Results of a comprehensive two-year study analyzing the facts and policy alternatives. Originally published in 1979.

Authors with widely different perspectives consider two important social objectives: assuring future energy supplies and protecting the natural environment. Contributors include Kenneth Boulding, Glenn Seaborg, and Barry Commoner. Particularly useful to students and interested non-specialists. Originally published in 1972

Originally published in 1974, this report dwells on the problems of meeting global energy demands and the time, effort and knowledge needed to research new energy methods. With rising costs, the uncertainty of supply from the Middle East and concern over the environmental impact of energy products, Energy and the Social Sciences outlines the intense need for well-designed research. This title will be of interest to students of Environmental Studies.

Originally published in 1974, this report dwells on the problems of meeting global energy demands and the time, effort and knowledge needed to research new energy methods. With rising costs, the uncertainty of supply from the Middle East and concern over the environmental impact of energy products, Energy and the Social Sciences outlines the intense need for well-designed research. This title will be of interest to students of Environmental Studies.

Economists of the Cowles Commission of the University of Chicago present the first comprehensive study of the long-range effects on world economy of atomic power and its implications for industries producing oil, coal, and electric power. The study includes a consideration of the characteristics of atomic power, covering source and cost of fuels, type of equipment and initial investment required, etc., and an analysis, estimating the future effects of atomic power on residential heating and on the industries producing aluminum, iron and steel, flat glass, phosphate fertilizers, fixed nitrogen, chlorine, caustic soda, cement, bricks, railroad transportation. The final chapter discusses the possibilities of atomic power in industrialization of backward areas. Originally published in 1950. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Economists of the Cowles Commission of the University of Chicago present the first comprehensive study of the long-range effects on world economy of atomic power and its implications for industries producing oil, coal, and electric power. The study includes a consideration of the characteristics of atomic power, covering source and cost of fuels, type of equipment and initial investment required, etc., and an analysis, estimating the future effects of atomic power on residential heating and on the industries producing aluminum, iron and steel, flat glass, phosphate fertilizers, fixed nitrogen, chlorine, caustic soda, cement, bricks, railroad transportation. The final chapter discusses the possibilities of atomic power in industrialization of backward areas. Originally published in 1950. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.