… is from page 175 of William Easterly’s brilliant 2001 book, The Elusive Quest for Growth:
Technology is a wonderful thing, but let’s not anoint it as yet another elixir for growth. Technology responds to incentives, just like everything else. When technology exists but the incentives for using it are missing, not much will happen. The Romans had the steam engine, but used it only for opening and closing the doors of a temple.
