Divided we stand, united we fall:: The Hume-North-Jones mechanism for the rise of Europe

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Karayalcin, Cem
• 署名单位: State University System of Florida; Florida International University
• 刊物名称: INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC REVIEW
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0020-6598
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-2354.2008.00503.x
• 发表日期: 2008
• 页码: 973-997
• 关键词: divergence; industrialization; TRADE; CHINA

摘要

The great divergence between 'Europe and the rest of the world occurred relatively recently. What enabled Europe, with all its laggards, to dominate the previously successful Eastern economies? This article emphasizes one important mechanism, highlighting the contrast between the European states system and Eastern empires. Political competition for a mobile tax base in a states system forces rulers to provide relatively more secure property rights. By effectively limiting the exit options of the ruled, an empire rewards its ruler with a captive tax base that can be subjected to higher levels of expropriation. As a result, the states system encourages faster capital accumulation and growth.