159-2-723
In “The Long Divergence” Mr Kuran advances a more plausible reason. The Middle East fell behind the West because it failed to produce commercial institutions—most notably joint-stock companies—that were capable of mobilising large quantities of productive resources and enduring over time.
Europeans inherited the idea of the corporation from Roman law. Using it as a base, they also experimented with ever more complicated partnerships. By 1470 the house of the Medicis had a permanent staff of 57 spread across eight European cities. The Islamic world failed to produce similar innovations. Under the prevailing “law of partnerships”, businesses could be dissolved at the whim of a single partner. The combination of generous inheritance laws and the practice of polygamy meant that wealth was dispersed among numerous claimants.
None of this mattered when business was simple. But the West’s advantage grew as it became more complicated. Whereas business institutions in the Islamic world remained atomised, the West developed ever more resilient corporations—limited liability became widely available in the mid-19th century—as well as a penumbra of technologies such as double-entry book-keeping and stockmarkets.

A. 어휘
Divergence 分岐(분기), 차이, 逸脫(일탈). plausible 그럴싸한, 진실 같은.
institutions 商社(상사), 機關(기관), 단체, 협회, 학회.
notably 명백하게. joint-stock 공동자본, 주식조직.
joint-stock companies 주식회사. mobilise 동원하다, 조직하다.
large quantities of 대량의. productive resources 생산자원.
enduring over time 시간(세월)이 지나도 지속되는.
inherit 상속하다. corporation 社團法人(사단법인), 조합, 주식회사.
complicated 복잡한. partnerships 공동경영, 提携(제휴),협력.
the Medicis 15-16세기 이탈리아의 상업-은행 名文家(명문가).
permanent staff 常勤職員(상근직원). innovations 혁신.
prevailing 널리 퍼져있는, 일반적인, 주된. dissolve 해산하다.
whim 변덕. practice 慣行(관행). polygamy 一夫多妻(일부다처).
disperse 분산되다. claimants 권리주장자. atomised 原子化(원자화된).
resilient 복원력이 있는, 탄력성이 있는. limited liability 有限責任(유한책임).
penumbra 半陰影(반음영), 흐릿한 부분, 모호한 경계부분.
double-entry book-keeping 複式簿記(복식부기).