Wages, labour markets, and living standards in China, 1530–1840

Ziang Liu

Explorations in Economic History, 2024, vol. 92, issue C

Abstract: This article studies the long-term wage development in China between 1530 and 1840. In the long run, nominal wages moved in tandem with prices, but did not respond as quickly as the increase in prices. Real wages experienced two substantial falls between the 1620s-1650s and the 1740s-1760s, but remained relatively stable in the remainder of the period examined. Rural-urban wage disparities suggest that the agricultural sector, rather than urban industries, continued to absorb surplus labour. A comparison of wages in Lower Yangzi China and England suggests that the wage gap widens after 1700.

Keywords: Wage; Living standard; Labour market; early modern China; Great divergence (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J21 J31 N15 N3 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:exehis:v:92:y:2024:i:c:s0014498323000633

DOI: 10.1016/j.eeh.2023.101569

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