The distinction between macro- and microinventions is at the core of recent debates on the Industrial Revolution. Yet, the empirical testing of this notion has remained elusive. We address this issue by introducing a new quality indicator for all patents granted in England in the period 1700–1850. The indicator provides the opportunity for a large-scale empirical appraisal of macro- and microinventions. Our findings indicate that macroinventions did not exhibit any specific time-clustering, while microinventions were characterized by clustering behavior. In addition, we also find that macroinventions displayed a labor-saving bias and were mostly introduced by professional engineers. These results suggest that Allen’s and Mokyr’s views of macroinventions, rather than conflicting, should be regarded as complementary.

宏观发明和微观发明之间的区别是最近关于工业革命的争论的核心。然而，对这一概念的实证检验仍然难以捉摸。我们通过为 1700 年至 1850 年期间在英格兰授予的所有专利引入新的质量指标来解决这个问题。该指标为宏观和微观发明的大规模实证评估提供了机会。我们的研究结果表明，宏观发明没有表现出任何特定的时间聚类，而微观发明则以聚类行为为特征。此外，我们还发现宏观发明显示出节省劳动力的倾向，并且主要由专业工程师引入。这些结果表明，Allen 和 Mokyr 的宏观发明观点应被视为互补，而不是相互冲突。