Abstract
In a paper circulated since the end of 1997 Gordon Tullock poses a simple but provocative question. Why did the technological take-off marking the start of the industrial revolution take place in Europe rather than in Asia in the 19th century. Until shortly before that time other parts of the world and notably China looked much better equipped for sustained intellectual, scholarly and technological leadership and the wealth that technological leadership can bring about. Drawing on his extensive expertise on Chinese history and culture and on his longstanding interest in the Organization of Inquiry Tullock argues that Europe assumed the technological leadership towards the end of the eighteenth century due to a set of unique constitutional factors not present anywhere else in the world.1
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Backhaus, J.G. (2000). Constitutional Causes for Technological Leadership: Why Europe?. In: Fishback, P., Libecap, G., Zajac, E. (eds) Public Choice Essays in Honor of a Maverick Scholar: Gordon Tullock. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-4563-7_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-4563-7_4
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