Paul David argued that QWERTY became standard because manufacturers and typists had strong incentives to converge on one keyboard configuration rather than because it was optimal.

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Location PART 2 - FOUR HIDDEN CHIMNEYS CHAPTER 10: BUILDING-BLOCK REALITY Blocks Tend to Stick Around

"Paul David argued that QWERTY became standard because manufacturers and typists had strong incentives to converge on one keyboard configuration rather than because it was optimal."

Stanford's account of David's 1985 QWERTY work summarizes the classic path-dependence argument that coordination incentives among manufacturers and typists helped lock one keyboard configuration in as the standard.

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Source title Paul A. David, who made Stanford a leading center for economic history, dies at 87

Source authors John Sanford

Source year 2023

Confidence high

Importance high