Patterns of state formation have crucial implications for comparative economic development.
Diamond (1997) famously argued that “fractured land” was responsible for China's tendency …

We survey the recent economics and history literature on the Chinese state to investigate its
role in China's long‐term socioeconomic development. We highlight three insights. First …

North China was traditionally the cradle of civilization in China, and yet most of its largest
cities today are located in the south. Using a unique gridded (1∗ 1°) data set of population …

In light of the previous discussion of the political economy of early state formation, I review
evidence from four pristine early states: Harappa in Indus Valley, Erlitou in northern China …

This paper examines the long-run economic effects of historical climate risk in China (1400-
1900 CE), highlighting how such prolonged periods allowed for the development of adaptive …