Asia‐Pacific Economic History Review最新文献

{"title":"Weak data nullify bold claims about economic trends in Qing China","authors":"Thomas G. Rawski","doi":"10.1111/aehr.70010","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/aehr.70010","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Recent quantitative studies find steep reductions in Chinese per capita real GDP during 1700–1850, challenging long-standing views of eighteenth-century prosperity. While evidence surrounding likely consequences of deteriorating food availability remains inconclusive, examination of the grain output series proposed by Broadberry, Guan and Li reveals unrealistically tight error margins as a key driver of their results for the largest component of Qing-era GDP. Plausible revisions demonstrate that the underlying data easily accommodate stable or rising, as well as falling per capita grain supply, invalidating revisionist conclusions about GDP trends, Qing economic decline and the timing and extent of the Great Divergence.</p>","PeriodicalId":100132,"journal":{"name":"Asia‐Pacific Economic History Review","volume":"65 2","pages":"273-299"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-08-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/aehr.70010","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144832840","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The making of a nation: Who voted for Australian federation?","authors":"Rohan Alexander,&nbsp;Timothy J. Hatton","doi":"10.1111/aehr.70008","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/aehr.70008","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Between 1898 and 1900, six British colonies held referendums on whether or not to join together as states in a federal Australia. We focus on New South Wales, which was pivotal to the affirmative result. We associate the share of ‘yes’ votes at the polling booth level with a range of county-level characteristics. We find no evidence that manufacturing districts favoured federation in the expectation of a higher tariff, and those born in the colony tended to vote against it. Voters close to land borders and further from Sydney strongly favoured federation but this support was undermined by low turnout.</p>","PeriodicalId":100132,"journal":{"name":"Asia‐Pacific Economic History Review","volume":"65 2","pages":"192-214"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/aehr.70008","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144832975","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Migration to Australia, the transition from sail to steam, and the SS Great Britain","authors":"Timothy J. Hatton","doi":"10.1111/aehr.70009","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/aehr.70009","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The transition from sail to steam for emigrant ships on the route to Australia took place in the early 1880s. From the 1850s, a string of steamship ventures failed, but with one outstanding exception. Brunel's iconic ship the <i>SS Great Britain</i> made 32 voyages to Australia from 1852 to 1875 with a total of nearly 16,000 passengers. Among the key reasons for the <i>Great Britain's</i> success are the characteristics of the ship and the way it was adapted for the long voyage to the antipodes. Also important was the shrewd management of its owners, and an element of luck.</p>","PeriodicalId":100132,"journal":{"name":"Asia‐Pacific Economic History Review","volume":"65 2","pages":"173-191"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/aehr.70009","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144832621","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Globalisation and the development of Chinese cotton industry in early 20th century","authors":"Masataka Setobayashi","doi":"10.1111/aehr.70006","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/aehr.70006","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Following the establishment of the Treaty Port system, trade in imported cotton products—including manufactured cloth, finer yarn, and long-staple cotton—between the west and China began, though it expanded far less than Western manufacturers had anticipated. Nonetheless, the influx of manufactured cloth introduced substantial changes to China's cotton industry. In particular, the creation of new markets by Japanese companies and practices like direct purchasing significantly contributed to the advancement of the Chinese cotton textile industry. Consequently, over the course of roughly a century since the initial inflow of manufactured cloth, the cotton industry in China became increasingly globalised.</p>","PeriodicalId":100132,"journal":{"name":"Asia‐Pacific Economic History Review","volume":"65 2","pages":"249-272"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144832464","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The onset of the British Imperial retreat from China: Evidence from the Chinese sovereign bond market in London","authors":"Dan Li,&nbsp;Hao Tang,&nbsp;Yajie Wang","doi":"10.1111/aehr.70005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/aehr.70005","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This study explores the British Empire's retreat from China through the lens of London investors in Chinese sovereign bonds (1898–1938). Using structural break analysis on weekly spreads between Chinese bonds—secured by British-controlled customs and salt revenues—and British Consols, it identifies key shifts. Spreads surged over 70% during the Northern Expedition (1926–1928), coinciding with Britain's shift from ‘gunboat diplomacy’ to concessions, signalling investor perceptions of declining imperial oversight. A subsequent break at the Expedition's conclusion saw spreads narrow by 24% to 54%, not due to a resurgence of British influence, but to the Nationalist Government's split from the Communist Party and Bolsheviks and its pledge to honour existing debts. However, in the post-Expedition era, perceived risk in Chinese bonds rose, reflected in a sharp increase in bond return volatility and a heightened co-movement between London and domestic bond returns. Realising their government could no longer guarantee the credibility of Chinese bonds, London investors adjusted their strategy, closely tracking developments in China.</p>","PeriodicalId":100132,"journal":{"name":"Asia‐Pacific Economic History Review","volume":"65 2","pages":"215-248"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144832725","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A reverse salient: Japan's economic sanctions on enemy business, 1914–1927","authors":"Chenxiao Li","doi":"10.1111/aehr.12309","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/aehr.12309","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This study explores the formation and implementation of Japan's economic sanctions on enemy business, especially German merchants, during the First World War, by positioning Japan within the context of the Allies' collective effort to enforce a global blockade. Although Japan enforced harsh measures in Qingdao, the economic sanctions on the home front were lenient compared with those of the European Allies and the United States. For this, Japan received diplomatic pressure from Britain. The Allies' pressure eventually led to Japan's policy switch before the end of the war. With respect to sanctions, Japan was a reverse salient among the Allies.</p>","PeriodicalId":100132,"journal":{"name":"Asia‐Pacific Economic History Review","volume":"65 1","pages":"112-130"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143639314","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Toward the great divergence: Economic growth in the Yangzi Delta, 1393–1953","authors":"Runzhuo Zhai","doi":"10.1111/aehr.70003","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/aehr.70003","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;&lt;i&gt;The dissertation was completed in 2023 at the University of Oxford, under the supervision of Professor Stephen Broadberry. This work was partly funded by Designated Studentship Scholarship of the University of Oxford and PhD Bursary Scheme of Economic History Society&lt;/i&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;i&gt;The full dissertation can be accessed through the Library of the University of Oxford&lt;/i&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;This dissertation examines the economic growth process of the Yangzi Delta, one of China's most developed sub-regions, from 1393 to 1953. For the first time in the literature, an annual-frequency GDP series is constructed using an output-based approach. The new GDP data shed light on how the Yangzi Delta's economy evolved over seven centuries.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;From the perspective of Chinese economic history, the nine Taihu Lake-centred prefectures studied in this dissertation had a GDP per capita well above the national average for a long time (~170%). However, before the mid-19th century, the local economy appeared to be trapped in what Mark Elvin (&lt;span&gt;1973&lt;/span&gt;) refers to as the ‘high-level equilibrium trap.’ While the GDP per capita exhibited a Malthusian-style growth pattern, numerous technological and managerial innovations allowed it to remain at a high level.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In the context of global economic history, this dissertation incorporates the Yangzi Delta's directly calculated GDP into global GDP comparisons for the first time. Since the late 14th century, the Yangzi Delta maintained a GDP per capita level comparable to that of the most developed European economies, including those of Italy, the Netherlands, and Britain. However, by the late 17th century, this neck-and-neck growth pattern came to an end. From that point onward, the leading European economies surpassed the Yangzi Delta in terms of GDP per capita, and the gap widened irreversibly. In short, the Great Divergence is believed to have begun at the end of the 17th century.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;This dissertation is divided into two sections: &lt;i&gt;Measuring Economic Growth&lt;/i&gt; (Chapters 2–4) and &lt;i&gt;Analysing Economic Growth&lt;/i&gt; (Chapters 5 and 6). To measure economic growth in the Yangzi Delta, I first examine the region's population and cultivated land in Chapter 2. Although many macro-level population and land-use figures exist in Chinese historical records, as Ho (&lt;span&gt;1959&lt;/span&gt;) pointed out, these figures cannot be used directly. The primary focus of Chapter 2 is to reconstruct data on population and cultivated land while considering institutional factors. From an institutional perspective, I delve into the traditions and practices of China's statistical system, explaining when the available data can be considered reliable and when it cannot. By carefully assessing the boundaries of the historical data, I am ultimately able to construct a complete set of benchmark data on population and cultivated land in the Yangzi Delta. In the long run, decreasing cultivated land per capita was the dominant characteristic of the regio","PeriodicalId":100132,"journal":{"name":"Asia‐Pacific Economic History Review","volume":"65 1","pages":"160-162"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/aehr.70003","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143639180","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Land revenue, inequality and development in colonial India (1880–1910)","authors":"Jordi Caum-Julio","doi":"10.1111/aehr.70002","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/aehr.70002","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;&lt;i&gt;This dissertation was completed and conferred in 2023 at the University of Barcelona under the supervision of Alfonso Herranz-Loncán (University of Barcelona) and Gabriele Cappelli (University of Siena). It was financially supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities under an FPU scholarship. See the dissertation for full references and acknowledgements&lt;/i&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;i&gt;The dissertation can be accessed at&lt;/i&gt; https://hdl.handle.net/2445/206123.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Different institutional settings lead to different developmental outcomes (Acemoglu et al., &lt;span&gt;2005&lt;/span&gt;). However, the effect of institutions on the distribution of the benefits of development remains relatively unexplored—particularly for colonial times. Similarly, research on the impact of institutions on the provision of public goods promoting human capital—other than education—has also remained understudied. With these broad research gaps in mind, in this dissertation I explore the impact of land revenue systems on the distribution of agricultural income and on the funding of hospitals and dispensaries in colonial India.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Land revenue systems was an institution introduced by the British granting landownership—together with land tax liability—to different types of individuals. During their initial expansion, the British introduced a landlord system—where landownership was granted to an intermediary. As more regions came under British control, non-landlord systems were also introduced. In these systems, landownership was granted directly to the cultivator. Interestingly, Banerjee and Iyer (&lt;span&gt;2005&lt;/span&gt;) find that these systems influenced post-colonial development, although their impact during the colonial period remains mostly unknown. Importantly, this dissertation presents the first comparative estimates of agricultural income inequality below the national level for colonial India. I also provide one of the first datasets with data for colonial India below the district-level. In particular, I construct a new georeferenced dataset with revenue and expenditure data for over 1600 hospitals and dispensaries.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;After a brief introduction, I explore the link between land revenue systems and the evolution of agricultural income inequality from 1880 to 1910. To do so, I use provincial wage/land price (&lt;i&gt;W&lt;/i&gt;/&lt;i&gt;LP&lt;/i&gt;) ratios to estimate agricultural income inequality. When correlating these new estimates with the presence of different land revenue systems, I find that in provinces with more landlord systems, agricultural income inequality increased less and, in some cases even decreased. I argue that this was due to the introduction of Tenancy Acts. These acts were mostly introduced in landlord provinces and limited rent rises as well as tenant eviction, reducing the landlords' capacity to increase their share of agricultural surplus over time. The correlation between some economic factors—like factor endowments—and the &lt;i&gt;W&lt;/i&gt;/&lt;i&gt;LP&lt;/i&gt; ratios does","PeriodicalId":100132,"journal":{"name":"Asia‐Pacific Economic History Review","volume":"65 1","pages":"163-165"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/aehr.70002","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143639046","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"From politics to economics: The investigation of the determinants of local administrative hierarchy in the Tang–Song transition","authors":"Nan Li,&nbsp;Heqi Cai","doi":"10.1111/aehr.12307","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/aehr.12307","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This study collects original data to examine the determinants of classification criteria of county hierarchy and its rank variations during the Tang–Song period. The results reveal that the county hierarchy was affected by both economic and political situations, with more emphasis on politics in Tang and economics in Song. By comparing the county ranks through two dynasties, we find that political factors influenced rank elevation mainly near the capital while economic factors emerged as the primary driver of rank increases in southern regions, reflecting the economic center southward shift during the Tang–Song Transition.</p>","PeriodicalId":100132,"journal":{"name":"Asia‐Pacific Economic History Review","volume":"65 1","pages":"39-78"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/aehr.12307","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143638745","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Report of the editor of the Asia-Pacific Economic History Review for 2024","authors":"Kris Inwood","doi":"10.1111/aehr.70004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/aehr.70004","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":100132,"journal":{"name":"Asia‐Pacific Economic History Review","volume":"65 1","pages":"169-170"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143638744","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}