THE GREAT DIVERGENCE VINGT ANS APRÈS: TOWARD A MEDIUM-TERM SYNTHESIS?

In the last twenty years the researches inspired by a global approach have given a fundamental contribution to the debate on the origins of ‘modern economic growth’ and of the so-called Great Divergence between the West and the Rest. However, the emphasis placed on the short-term conjuncture or accidental factors, such as the distribution of strategic resources, has led to an underestimation of the impact of cultural, political, social and economic developments in Europe during the two or three centuries preceding the Industrial Revolution.