Fenjiashu: Economic development in the Chinese countryside based on household division inventories, ca. 1750–1910

Abstract

Despite the existence of a rich literature on Chinese partial household division, there is still limited evidence of its effect on land and capital accumulation and well-being. In this study, contrary to the dominant view, we find that household property size peaked around 1800s–1830s, suggesting that equal-share system did not necessarily lead to land fragmentation. We find evidence that this rise in farm sizes is related to the opposing forces of increased well-being and increased inequality.