I. Introduction, Background and Overview Flashcards
Why is the historical perspective necessary?
Historical perspective is necessary because it allows us to view the role of economic history in growth and development.
Knowing Economic history -> growth and development -> LONG TERM process -> throughout the long term process of development, you inherit and enhance INSTITUTIONS + establish foundations (i.e. democratic ideas)
When is the revolution? Who took over? Why is this year relevant?
1949 - Mao
This was the turning point and the change in economic fundamentals that are necessary for growth
When did the Market Economy start? What year?
1978
When is the revolution that was a turning point in China?
1949
Turning points and a change in economic fundamentals that are necessary for growth
Development is a what? Who said?
What is the hidden meaning of development?
Development is a long-term process
Hidden meaning of development = institutions
econ history -> growth and development -> long ter process (pomeranz) -> throughout the long-term process, you inherit institutions ad establish foundations
Historical Examples
How long is the recorded history?
1st dynasty - Year
2nd dynasty - Year
3000 years
Shang Dynasty - 16th Century BC
Qing Dynasty - 1644 to 1911
Monetary History - for studying trade tensions such as trade imbalance
What is the civil service examination system?
From which dynasty?
When was it abolished?
- Provided a competitive exam for merit-based bureaucracy
Bureaucrats are chosen on merit, not by birth rights
“Chosen on merit, not by birth rights” implies that selection or preference is based on an individual’s abilities, qualifications, or achievements rather than their familial or inherited status
- Vehicle for social mobility
● From Sui Dynasty, 600 AD to Qing 1911
● An important institution for social and economic mobility
● Exams was based on knowledge and mastery of classical Confucian classics - From Sui Dynasty (600 AD) to Qing Dynasti (1911)
- Abolished in 1905 — reform was pushed by students
What is an institution?
Who coined the phrase?
Douglass C. North (1993)
Institution are the RULES OF THE GAME IN A SOCIETY
These are HUMANLY DEVISED CONSTRAINTS that STRUCTURE HUMAN INTERACTION such as FORMAL CONSTRAINTS (rules, laws, constitutions) and INFORMAL CONSTRAINTS (norms of behavior, conventions) and SELF-IMPOSED CODE OF CONDUCT and their ENFORCEMENT CHARACTERISTICS
Qin Dynasty + Contributions
Established political institutions and practices
China unified around 221 BC
Eastern Han Dynasty
When, Contributions
250 to 281 BC
Economic foundations of the universal empire
handed down from qin to eastern han
- Household - basic social and fiscal unit (foundation of social relationships, key players in economic activities and financial matters within a society)
- Use of merit ranks to AWARD land property
- Legal tenet of mutual responsibility and shared liability among neighbors
- Strict regulation of commerce and industry
- Population registration – building block for the autocratic state
- Conjugal household (husband and wife, family unit) was the basic unit of production, taxation and social reproduction
- Social stability – geographic and occupational -> All persons who traveled away from their native place – required to carry passports
- Foundations of the development of the smallholder family farm economy: Given the land grant allocations, state land ownership cultivation with cultivation by individual households (growth of small family farms was based on giving land to families, either through land grants or state ownership, and letting each family cultivate their own plot.)
8.1 Fostered social stability by providing each household with a stable economic base and it would increase agricultural productivity
Eastern Han Summarized
Elements in Qin rule, handed down to Han dynasty, 206 BC to 9 AD, became cornerstones of Han imperial governance
The legitimacy of the Emperor was supported by the smallholder family farm system, which served as the foundation for the well-being of the general population.
- Household as the basic and social fiscal unit
- Merit ranks to award land
- Mutual and shared liability and responsibility
- Strict regulation of commerce and industry
- Population registration
- Conjugal household as the basic unit of PTS (production, taxation, social reproduction)
- Social stability geographically (ppl stayed in the same place) and occupationally (stable in jobs) -> requirement of passports for far travels
- Growth of small family farms was based on giving land to families, either through land grants or state ownership, and letting each family cultivate their own plot.
- Social stability - stable economic base due to land allocation and cultivation -> increase agricultural productivity
What are the foundations of the universal empire?
Historical economic institutions became the foundations of the universal empire
What is topography?
Arrangement of NATURAL and ARTIFICIAL physical features of an area
size, location, endowment of natural resources; share in population and output; major urban centers
Give me the 3 main macro regions in China
North
Lower Yangtze
Northeast
What is North known for?
- Most important pre-1978 — largest area and location of capital
- Central region
- Main crop: WHEAT (they don’t eat rice)
- Urban centers: BEIJING and TIANJIN
- Integrated with Southeast and Northeast
- Linked with Southeast by WATER TRANSPORT -> YANGTZE RIVER and the GRAND CANAL
- All foreign invasion passes through North only (always engaged in war because all invaders are from the north)
- North and Southeast (Lower Yangtze)
- Can export because of the Grand Canal that connects NORTH to SOUTH
What is Northeast known for?
- Resource rich: coal and minerals
- Manchuria
- Base of HEAVY INDUSTRIES
- Planned Economy
- Was integrated with the rest of the Economy
What is Lower Yangtze known for?
- Food-grain surplus region
- Exports to the NORTH (because they eat wheat)
- MOST DEVELOPED historically
- Main crop: rice
- Diversified agriculture
- 2 subregions: inward (Fujian) & outward/maritime (Guangdong)
- Food-grain surpluses of Lower yangtze was shipped to the North
What to North, Southeast, and Northeast have in common?
Macroregions that are integrated in pre-modern economy
What are the bodies of water that connects the regions? Which specific regions?
- WATER TRANSPORT - Both Grand Canal and Yangtze River
Connects North and Southeast
Lower Yangtze river and the Grand Canal linked North and Southeast China
- YANGTZE RIVER - Upper, Middle, Lower Yangtze that runs across West to East
- GRAND CANAL - South to North
7 Macro Regions in China + Notable things
- North China - Beijing, central
- Northeast China - Manchuria
- Upper Yangtze - Sichuan (West), unique geography
- Middle Yangtze - Monoculture, Grain Surplus region, SOUTHWEST REGION, low income
- Lower Yangtze - low-income, most developed, main crop: rice, food surplus region
- Southeast - Lower Yangtze (dulo ng Yangtze na nag-sstart sa West), Shanghai
- Southwest - Middle Yangtze (West- Upper Yangtze)