Different Conditions of Institutional Innovation—An Interpretation of the Needham Puzzle

摘要

The innovative system is the key to the development of a country's economy. The social environment in the Spring and Autumn period favored a more innovative system than European, which has directly resulted in monarchy that lasted nearly two thousand years, that system has managed to make China be the leader in the followed 1600 years in economic and science when compared with the West. Whereas, social environment of the late Middle Ages in Europe was more in favor of institutional innovation than China. It caused the first establishment of the capitalist system in Europe, and finally caught up with and surpassed China in development level. It was such differences in the innovation system that generated the Needham Puzzle. This paper analyzes the specific content of these conditions and the role of social development, and tries to explore some practical significance.