American Economic Review
ISSN 0002-8282 (Print) | ISSN 1944-7981 (Online)
Rebel on the Canal: Disrupted Trade Access and Social Conflict in China, 1650–1911
American Economic Review
vol. 112,
no. 5, May 2022
(pp. 1555–90)
Abstract
This paper examines the effects of the abandonment of China's Grand Canal—the world's largest and oldest artificial waterway—which served as a disruption to regional trade access. Using an original dataset covering 575 counties over 262 years, we show that the canal's abandonment contributed to the social turmoil that engulfed North China in the nineteenth century. Counties along the canal experienced an additional 117 percent increase in rebelliousness after the canal's closure relative to their non-canal counterparts. Our findings highlight the important role that continued access to trade routes plays in reducing conflict.Citation
Cao, Yiming, and Shuo Chen. 2022. "Rebel on the Canal: Disrupted Trade Access and Social Conflict in China, 1650–1911." American Economic Review, 112 (5): 1555–90. DOI: 10.1257/aer.20201283Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- D74 Conflict; Conflict Resolution; Alliances; Revolutions
- N75 Economic History: Transport, Trade, Energy, Technology, and Other Services: Asia including Middle East
- N95 Regional and Urban History: Asia including Middle East
- O18 Economic Development: Urban, Rural, Regional, and Transportation Analysis; Housing; Infrastructure
- O22 Project Analysis
- R12 Size and Spatial Distributions of Regional Economic Activity
- R42 Transportation Economics: Government and Private Investment Analysis; Road Maintenance, Transportation Planning