산업혁명기의 기술혁신과 대외 무역과의 관련성에 관한 연구

Abstract

The origin of technological innovations during the Industrial Revolution should be explained in the context of history. However, recent discussions on the issue lacks historical approach, only leading to the conclusion of historical accident or European exceptionalism as explanations of technological origins of the Industrial Revolution. This paper argues that the Industrial Revolution was not the starter of the modern industrial society and the Kontratieff's long-cycle theory should extend further before the period of the Industrial Revolution. Then, the expansion of foreign trades before the Industrial Revoluton would have a causal effect to technological innovations during the Industrial Revolution. Especially, this paper stresses that the Chineses impact has been neglected, mainly under influence of European Exceptionalism. Before the Indus- trial Revolution, foreign trade played a role of 'conduit for information flows.' In this process Europeans imported technological innovations which had been developed in Asian countries, either directly or through 'stimulus spillover.'In conclusion this paper provides three important research agenda afterwards. First, empirical studies on foreign trades and their impact of technological innovations, particularly centered on the evidences which show thechnology transfers in the direction from the East to West, should be followed. Second, the causal impact of the lose of Asian initiative in foreign trades in the 16th century on the following colonization and industrialization in Asian countries should be more studied, which will in turn help improve the understanding of the Industrial Revolution and the modernization of Western countries in a greater extent. Third, European exceptionalism in describing the Industrial Revolution should be criticized. In this regard, anti-historism in the study of economic history which depends on a micro-approach too much should be overcome.