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Full referenceXiao, Yanming, “State and industrial development in early Republican China, 1912-1927” (1999)
TypeDissertation
Author(s)Xiao, Yanming
Title“State and industrial development in early Republican China, 1912-1927”
Year1999
UniversityHarvard University
M.A./Ph.D.M.A.
LanguageEnglish
SubjectHistory
Keywordseconomy
AbstractThis dissertation is about industrial development in early Republican China (1912–27). It attempts to answer two basic questions. First, was there sustained industrial development at the time? Second, if yes, how do we explain the development? Regarding the first question, the study goes beyond mere qualitative descriptions by employing extensive quantitative data at both country and sectoral levels. It finds that industrial development was indeed rapid for the period under study. Specifically, signs of initial development had already begun prior to the Republican era, coinciding with the intensive reform efforts, known as Xinzheng, or “new policy” reforms in the late Qing years. Further, industrial development was not only rapid in the 1910s, but also into the 1920s, even though much of the 1920s witnessed the political disintegration of China as regional military powers withheld their political allegiance to the center, a period known as warlordism (1916–27). Regarding the second question, the conventional wisdom points to the impact of the WWI (1914–18). This study, however, argues that statist efforts by both Xinzheng reformers and early Republican governments to foster a pro-industrial institutional environment were a critical factor. in advancing the argument, the study presents evidence that while the WWI may have facilitated growth of some industrial sectors in China; it hindered others, because imports of some critical capital goods were delayed during the war. in any case, whatever the impact the war may have, it was limited in depth and duration if only because industrial development in China had already begun prior to and continued after the war. Finally, to answer why development was possible during warlordism, the dissertation. engages in three sub-national case studies, that of Shanxi, Tianjin and Shanghai. It shows that while regional warlords may have withheld political allegiance from the center, they nonetheless saw eye-to-eye with the center insofar as nurturing a pro-industrial institutional environment is concerned, even though this time their ultimate intention was perhaps to enrich their own local coffers, or even their own pockets. in short, robust sub-national governments played a critical role in the industrial development in China at the time.
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