Fiscal Revenue in Ming and Qing China (1368–1911 CE): A Quantification

Hanhui Guan, Debin Ma and Runzhuo Zhai ()
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Hanhui Guan: Peking University
Debin Ma: Fudan University
Runzhuo Zhai: Renmin University of China

Chapter Chapter 9 in Quantitative History of China, 2026, pp 243-274 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract This chapter reconstructs 500 years of central governmental fiscal revenue and expenditure data for the Ming and Qing dynasties between 1368 and 1911 CE from both primary archival and secondary sources. We estimate total and per capita central governmental revenue both in nominal and real terms and decompose our fiscal revenue by types: in-kind versus monetary, land versus commercial taxes, direct versus indirect taxes, and seigniorage revenue. We further make a comparison with the available series for Europe. Our estimates on the long-term trend and structure form a benchmark for understanding long-term fiscal capacity in China in a comparative perspective. They show that the divergence in fiscal and financial capacity between England and China had emerged in the seventeenth century, fully one hundred years before the rise of the Industrial Revolution in England.

Keywords: Long-term fiscal revenue; Tax Burden per capita; Tax structure (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: E10 N35 O10 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:stechp:978-981-96-8272-0_9

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DOI: 10.1007/978-981-96-8272-0_9

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