Nuclear Power Reactors: A Study in Technological Lock-in

B-Tier
Journal: Journal of Economic History
Year: 1990
Volume: 50
Issue: 3
Pages: 541-567

Score contribution per author:

2.018 = (α=2.02 / 1 authors) × 1.0x B-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

Recent theory has predicted that if competing technologies operate under dynamic increasing returns, one, possibly inferior, technology will dominate the market. The history of nuclear power technology is used to illustrate these results. Light water is considered inferior to other technologies, yet it dominates the market for power reactors. This is largely due to the early adoption and heavy development by the U.S. Navy of light water for submarine propulsion. When a market for civilian power emerged, light water had a large head start, and by the time other technologies were ready to enter the market, light water was entrenched.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:cup:jechis:v:50:y:1990:i:03:p:541-567_03
Journal Field
Economic History
Author Count
1
Added to Database
2026-01-25