Market-Supporting Institutions, Gild Organisations, and the Industrial Revolution: A Comparative View

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

11-1-2013

Abstract

This article investigates the conditions for the emergence of the agents of the Industrial Revolution by comparing the market-supporting institutions in pre-modern England and China. Market-supporting institutions in pre-modern England supported group mobility and expansion of laws, which permitted the forthcoming of new entrepreneurs critical for launching industrial ventures. By contrast, market-supporting institutions in pre-modern China, although supporting individual mobility, led to stable social stratification and stagnancy in law development, which did not provide appropriate conditions for the emergence of industrial entrepreneurs. © 2013 Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd and the Economic History Society of Australia and New Zealand.

Publication Title

Australian Economic History Review

First Page Number

221

Last Page Number

246

DOI

10.1111/aehr.12013

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