Abstract
Chapter 2 uses ‘Great Divergence’ debate and the ‘Involutionary Growth’ in pre-industrial agriculture to support the argument that China’s agricultural technology evolution was a typical case of technology choice determined by complex market institutions. Involutionary growth is an economic phenomenon shown at the end of a possible path of technical change that deviates from the standard induced technology change, where factor accumulation fails to satisfy the criteria for initiating an ideal technological transition.
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Notes
- 1.
Yangtze River is also known as the Long River (changjiang, 长江). In its narrow meanings, Yangtze River only refer to the lower stretch of the river near Yangzhou (扬州).
- 2.
Mu , short for Chinese mu, is a unit of area to describe a size of land used in China. One mu is equal to one-fifteenth of a hectare or one-sixth of an acre.
- 3.
- 4.
But the phenomena only.
- 5.
Actually, if we accept some economic estimations (e.g., Maddison 1998 [2007]), Chinese living standards were much better than in most Europe areas until nineteenth century.
- 6.
This is also known as a Malthusian trap .
- 7.
As it supported population growth during the whole Qing period.
- 8.
Assets that only designed for certain purpose, which is different from land and other simple tools.
- 9.
This increment or excess over the original value called ‘surplus -value”—from Karl Marx’s Capital (1867 [1977]).
- 10.
And most of the world.
- 11.
Also see, Inada conditions (Inada 1963).
- 12.
- 13.
Which at least can allow factors to get the same price among all sectors.
- 14.
This is also known as factor price equalisation theorem.
- 15.
Here, we consider Pomeranz’s theory as an extended version of involution theory.
- 16.
Solow residual means the part of growth that cannot be explained through the Solow model , which implies externalities between factors.
- 17.
Especially Qing and Ming dynasties.
- 18.
As we can see in the pre-industrial world, domestic and international trade and financial system also work, especially from the fifteenth to seventeenth centuries.
- 19.
However, Braudel may not agree that institution is the key to understand the rise of modern economy.
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Du, J. (2018). Economic Thinking on Chinese Agriculture. In: Agricultural Transition in China. Palgrave Studies in Economic History. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76905-9_2
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