[CANCELLED] SMU SOE Seminar (November 1, 2022): Classicism and Modern Growth: The Shadow of the Sages

Please click here if you are unable to view this page.

ABSTRACT This paper examines how intellectual culture has affected economic modernization in China, where the learned class embraced classical wisdom for millennia but encountered the shock of Western industrial influence in the mid-19th century. I use the number of sage temples to measure the strength of classical worship in 269 prefectures, and instrument for the distribution of sage temples using the distribution of sages’ birthplaces. I find that classical worship discouraged intellectuals from appreciating modern learning and thus inhibited the growth of industrial firms between 1858 and 1927. By contrast, industrialization grew faster in regions less constrained by classicism. Click here to view the CV. Click here to view the paper.
		PRESENTER Chicheng Ma The University of Hong Kong
		RESEARCH FIELDS Development Economics Economic History Cultural Economics Political Economy Financial History Development
		DATE: 1 November 2022 (Tuesday) [CANCELLED]
		TIME: 4pm - 5.30pm
		VENUE: Meeting Room 5.1, Level 5 School of Economics Singapore Management University 90 Stamford Road Singapore 178903