슘페터와 기술혁신 : 「경제발전의 이론」 독일어 제1판의 주요 내용과 현대에 대한 시사점

Joseph Schumpeter is the Modern Prophet, who developed the innovation theory and suggested many meaningful directions for modern society. Many people have thought that he introduced the concepts of innovation and entrepreneurship in 1934, when the English-translated version of his book, The Theory of Economic Development, was published. However, he introduced those concepts in 1911, when he published his original German version book (Theorie der wirtschaftlichen Entwicklung). Hereafter a lot of studies have been made on Schumpeter in foreign countries. However, there have not been enough studies in Korea on his theories, especially from the perspectives of innovations. This paper aims at investigating what kinds of arguments Schumpeter made in his original first German version with regard to innovation and entrepreneurship. Schumpeter emphasizes that a national economy develops by entrepreneurs’ accomplishment (Durchsetzung) of innovations or new combinations of productive resources. According to him, an entrepreneur supplies production resources for innovations and economic development and needs credit for it. He also emphasizes entrepreneurial profits as the driver for innovations. His theories explain the development of modern economy excellently and provide a good rationale for developing a national economy based on innovations and fully supporting entrepreneurs.