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Shanghai-based industrialization in the early 20th century: a quantitative and institutional analysis

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  • Ma, Debin

Abstract

A significant but uneven spurt of industrialization started in China during the first three decades of the 20th century at a time of political instability and national disintegration. This article argues that economic growth during this period was closely associated with the rise and expansion of major treaty ports designated under the Western imperialist framework. I focus on the political institutions of a city-state adopted in early 20th century Shanghai – the rule of law, secure property rights and provision of public goods – as a crucial determinant to such growth. Using a historical GDP framework, this paper shows that the Shanghai-based industrialization exerted a significant quantitative impact on her immediate hinterland, the Lower Yangzi region. Per capita income in the two Lower Yangzi provinces was 64% higher than China’s national average, and it had experienced a magnitude of growth and structural change between 1914/18 and 1931/36 comparable to contemporaneous Japan and her East Asian colonies.

Suggested Citation

  • Ma, Debin, 2006. "Shanghai-based industrialization in the early 20th century: a quantitative and institutional analysis," Economic History Working Papers 22473, London School of Economics and Political Science, Department of Economic History.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:wpaper:22473
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    File URL: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/22473/
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    5. Morgan, Stephen L., 2004. "Economic growth and the biological standard of living in China, 1880-1930," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 2(2), pages 197-218, June.
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • N0 - Economic History - - General
    • O14 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Industrialization; Manufacturing and Service Industries; Choice of Technology
    • O53 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Asia including Middle East
    • B1 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought through 1925

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