Indeed politics, culture and posturing can be strong incentives that change the economics balance. If the Roman empire had one thing as advanced as our modern

Indeed politics, culture and posturing can be strong incentives that change the economics balance. If the Roman empire had one thing as advanced as our modern states that wasn't technology per se but the politics, the politicking the perverse incentives to do something to show for and a public whose murmur mattered. If some city official decided to impress visitors with some smooth roads perhaps he found a solution that wasn't strictly the best economically but perhaps it had other advantages that helped him getting a promotion?