We construct a simple model where political elites may block technological and institutional development, because of a ‘political replacement effect.’ Innovations often erode elites’ incumbency advantage, increasing the likelihood that they will be replaced. Fearing replacement, political elites are unwilling to initiate change, and may even block economic development. We show that elites are unlikely to block development when there is a high degree of political competition, or when they are highly entrenched. It is only when political competition is limited and also their power is threatened that elites will block development. We also show that such blocking is more likely to arise when political stakes are higher, and that external threats may reduce the incentives to block. We argue that this model provides an interpretation for why Britain, Germany and the US industrialized during the nineteenth century, while the landed aristocracy in Russia and Austria-Hungary blocked development.

Economic Backwardness in Political Perspective

The Pattern of the Chinese Past

Through a review of the literature, the author identifies the achievements as well as the deficiencies in the study of China's urbanization and urbanism in the second half of the 20th century. A number of issues that merit scholarly research are suggested and the need for theorization is emphasized. During the last half century, Chinese cities underwent dramatic transformations as a consequence of two major systemic changes. During the first three decades after the socialist revolution of 1949, sustained low levels of urbanization and a brief episode of antiurbanism accompanied centralized planning and city-based industrialization. Since the economic reforms of 1978 Chinese cities have witnessed major economic and spatial shifts away from the socialist patterns. Among the many facets of urban transformation since 1978 are a more heterogeneous urban population, rural – urban migration, spatial reorganization through urban land-use change, new housing development, globalization, suburbanization, polycentric...

Urban Transformation in China, 1949 – 2000: A Review and Research Agenda:

Trade and Civilisation in the Indian Ocean: An Economic History from the Rise of Islam to 1750.

The Cambridge History of Ancient China provides a survey of the cultural history of pre-imperial China. Fourteen leading specialists on early Chinese history and archaeology cover more than one thousand years. There are two chapters for each time-period - Shang, Western Zhou, Spring and Autumn, and Warring States: one on institutional history, based on both traditional and palaeographic literature, and one on material culture, based on archaeological evidence. There are also chapters on the Neolithic background, language, intellectual history, relations with Central Asia, and the debts of both the Qin and Han empires to these earlier time-periods. Although written by specialists, this Cambridge history aims to explain and describe pre-imperial China to an audience that will include scholars and students, as well as general readers without specialized knowledge of Chinese history. It can be consulted as a work of reference, or read continuously, alone or as part of The Cambridge History of China series.

The Cambridge History of Ancient China: From the Origins of Civilization to 221 BC

The Cambridge History of China.

Financial Administration Under The T'ang Dynasty

Shen-tsung’s Reign and the New Policies of Wang An-shih, 1067–1085

The Southern Kingdoms between the T’ang and the Sung, 907–979

The Cambridge Encyclopedia of China provides an absorbing and authoritative account of China and all things Chinese - geography, politics, customs, food and drink, the arts, and a rich and colourful history, from ancient times through to the momentous events of the past decade. Brian Hook and his team of expert contributors have thoroughly revised and updated the Encyclopedia to take full account of the most recent developments in China, from the economic reforms and increased freedoms of the early 1980s to the crisis of 1989 and its aftermath. The book is thus a uniquely broad-ranging account of China for everyone with an interest in the area, which will appeal both as a highly attractive illustrated reference book and as an invaluable source of practical information on a developing superpower.

Denis Twitchett

Papers

The Cambridge History of China.

Financial Administration Under The T'ang Dynasty

Shen-tsung’s Reign and the New Policies of Wang An-shih, 1067–1085

The Southern Kingdoms between the T’ang and the Sung, 907–979

The Cambridge encyclopedia of China