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The firm in early Modern China

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  • Zelin, Madeleine

Abstract

The Chinese shareholding entity had a long history supported by cultural and legal practices pre-dating the introduction of European business forms in China. In the absence of codified or systematic precedent-based private law, a culture in which contract was deeply embedded in daily practice and the state enforced private agreements sustained a growing commercial sector. Kinship practices were adapted to the needs of a merchant community seeking ways to pool capital and sustain firm longevity. These institutional developments help to explain Chinese adaptability to Western practices and the paradoxical persistence of Chinese practices after the promulgation of a Western-style company law.

Suggested Citation

  • Zelin, Madeleine, 2009. "The firm in early Modern China," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 71(3), pages 623-637, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:71:y:2009:i:3:p:623-637
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Peter Gibson, 2021. "Made in Chinatown: Chinese Furniture Factories in Australia, 1880–1930," Australian Economic History Review, Economic History Society of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 61(1), pages 102-108, March.
    2. Masahiko Aoki, 2013. "Historical sources of institutional trajectories in economic development: China, Japan and Korea compared," Chapters, in: Comparative Institutional Analysis, chapter 22, pages 439-469, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    3. Herrmann-Pillath, Carsten, 2015. "Energy, growth, and evolution: Towards a naturalistic ontology of economics," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 432-442.
    4. Niv Horesh, 2015. "Gerschenkron Redux? Analysing New Evidence on Joint-Stock Enterprise in Pre-War Shanghai," Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, The Crawford School, The Australian National University, vol. 29(1), pages 25-46, May.
    5. Harris, Ron, 2009. "The institutional dynamics of early modern Eurasian trade: The commenda and the corporation," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 71(3), pages 606-622, September.
    6. Loren Brandt & Debin Ma & Thomas G. Rawski, 2014. "From Divergence to Convergence: Reevaluating the History behind China's Economic Boom," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 52(1), pages 45-123, March.
    7. Masahiko Aoki, 2011. "The Five-Phases of Economic Development and Institutional Evolution in China and Japan," Development Economics Working Papers 23196, East Asian Bureau of Economic Research.
    8. Root, Hilton L., 2024. "The religious origins of state capacity in Europe and China," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 218(C), pages 456-469.
    9. Herrmann-Pillath Carsten & Guo Man, 2017. "Ritual and property: Theorizing a Chinese case," Man and the Economy, De Gruyter, vol. 4(1), pages 1-24, June.

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