A View of the Occupational Structure in Imperial and Republican China (1640–1952)

Despite being considered a prime indicator of economic change, the occupational structure does not figure prominently in the debate regarding the economic development of early modern China. One reason is the virtual absence of occupational data before the start of the twentieth century. In this pape...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Australian economic history review 2019-07, Vol.59 (2), p.134-158
Main Authors: Guo, Yongqin, Zhang, Zipeng, Leeuwen, Bas, Xu, Yi
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
19th century
China
Economic change
Economic development
household survey
J62
N15
N35
occupational structure
Qing dynasty
Republican period
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Summary:Despite being considered a prime indicator of economic change, the occupational structure does not figure prominently in the debate regarding the economic development of early modern China. One reason is the virtual absence of occupational data before the start of the twentieth century. In this paper, we make a first attempt to sketch the occupational structure between ca. 1640 and 1952 using a variety of unique and rather fragmented occupational sources. We find that the share of persons working in agriculture remained stable until the mid‐nineteenth century, with the share in industry showing some growth thereafter.
ISSN:0004-8992
1467-8446
2832-157X
DOI:10.1111/aehr.12174