Micro foundations in the Great Divergence debate: opening up a new perspective

Luca Zan and Kent Deng

LSE Research Online Documents on Economics from London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library

Abstract: Prevailing approaches in historical studies adopt a macro view and place an overwhelming emphasis on the Industrial Revolution as a major discontinuity in Western development. On the contrary, recent research in accounting, management and business history has suggested a different direction. When opting for a micro-level focus, crucial discontinuities in management and accounting in the West can be traced back to the Renaissance Period. The paper thus searches for ‘micro foundations’ in managing and accounting practices to address the on-going debate on the East-West divergence. Despite the obvious problems with source availability, we outline a new research agenda for the debate.

Keywords: Great Divergence Debate; Venice Arsenal; accounting and capitalism; proto-industrial settings; premodern bureaucracies (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: L23 M41 N8 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 36 pages
Date: 2017-01
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