Why did the knowledge transition occur in the West and not in the East? ICT and the role of governments in Europe, East Asia and the Muslim world

Abstract

 The invention of a new ICT, the printing press, may have been a fundamental turning point in knowledge transition. But did Gutenberg’s printing press succeed in Europe because of, or despite of, government intervention? To answer the question,this paper endeavours to make a comparative analysis of the role of governments in the invention, adoption and dissemination of the printing press in Europe, Korea and the Ottoman Empire. It shows that governments had a major impact on printing technology in both the West and the East.