The scientific revolution and its implications for long-run economic development.

• We propose a Unified Growth Model that incorporates the Scientific Revolution. • The Scientific Revolution paves the way for useful innovation and a takeoff to sustained economic development. • Countries with restricted scientific inquiry experience a delayed takeoff. • For severe restrictions in scientific inquiry, a takeoff does not occur at all. • The model can explain why the Industrial Revolution occurred in the UK first. We analyze the role of the Scientific Revolution in the takeoff to sustained long-run economic development. Basic scientific knowledge is a necessary input in the production of applied knowledge, which, in turn, fuels productivity growth and leads to rising incomes. Subsequently, rising incomes instigate a fertility transition and foster education investments. Together, the increasing stocks of basic scientific knowledge and human capital, and the concomitant reduction in fertility enable economic development. In regions where scientific inquiry is severely constrained—for example, due to religious reasons or due to oppressive rulers—the takeoff is delayed or may not occur at all. This shows the importance of investing in basic scientific inquiry when trying to achieve long-run economic prosperity. Our framework could contribute to the understanding of why sustained economic development emerged first in Europe and not in technologically more advanced China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]