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Economic Growth in the Lower Yangzi Region of China in 1911–1937: A Quantitative and Historical Analysis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 June 2008

DEBIN MA
DEBIN MA*
Affiliation:
Lecturer, Department of Economic History, London School of Economics, London WC2A 2AE, UK. E-mail: [email protected].
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Abstract

Through a detailed reconstruction of 1933 GDP for the two provinces in China's most advanced region, the Lower Yangzi, I show that their per capita income was 55 percent higher than China's average, and they had experienced a growth and structural change between 1914–1918 and 1931–1936 comparable to contemporaneous Japan and her East Asian colonies. This article highlights the unique political institution of early-twentieth-century Shanghai as a city state, with its rule of law and secure property rights laying the foundation for economic growth in the Lower Yangzi with long-term impact throughout East Asia.

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ARTICLES
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The Journal of Economic History , Volume 68 , Issue 2 , June 2008 , pp. 355 - 392
Copyright
Copyright © The Economic History Association 2008

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