NATIONS, INSTITUTIONS, AND TECHNOLOGICAL-DEVELOPMENT

Differences in national structures account for technological outcomes. Technology is a tool for comparativists to analyse the differences in national structures. Does technology drive society, and force an econ omy's institutions to adapt, or does the character of a society's comm unity and institutional arrangements shape the character of technology ? These are not necessarily competing hypotheses, but deeply intertwin ed stories that reflect the process by which technology recreates itse lf as it drives adaptations in the society at large. Embedding technol ogical and economic development within institutions with historical ro ots ion the nation improves upon the purely economical approach to exp laining technological growth.