High corruption income in Ming and Qing China |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Institute of Cultural Heritage and History of Science & Technology, University of Science and Technology Beijing, 30 Xueyuan Road, Beijing, 100083, China;2. Department of Classics and Archaeology, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, United Kingdom;3. University of Nottingham–Ningbo China, 199 Taikang East Road, Ningbo, 31500, China;4. School of Archaeology and Museology, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China;1. Institute for Economic and Social Research, Jinan University, Room 105, Zhonghui Building, 601 Huangpu Ave, Guangzhou, 510632 China;2. Department of Economics, Hong Kong Baptist University;3. Institute for Economic and Social Research, Jinan University, Room 411, Zengxianzi Science Building, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. |
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| Abstract: | We develop an economic model that explains historical data on government corruption in Ming and Qing China. In our model, officials' extensive powers result in corrupt income matching land's share in output. We estimate corrupt income to be between 14 and 22 times official income resulting in about 22% of agricultural output accruing to 0.4% of the population. The results suggest that eliminating corruption through salary reform was possible in early Ming but impossible by mid-Qing rule. Land reform may also be ineffective because officials could extract the same rents regardless of ownership. High officials' incomes and the resulting inequality may have also created distortions and barriers to change that could have contributed to China's stagnation over the five centuries 1400–1900s. |
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