Harper Lecture with Kenneth Pomeranz: Unique Patterns of Chinese Economic Development

Among the most striking features of late imperial China (ca. 1400-1912) was the fact that, though it had a highly commercialized society, most peasants continued to have very strong claims to their land, and only a very small share of the population became dependent on earning wages. In this talk, Professor Pomeranz will analyze several reasons for this pattern of development and trace the long-term consequences of the system that resulted from it, showing that it created a distinct political economy that p