YSI-EHES Economic History Graduate Webinar: Gan Jin

Gan Jin, doctoral candidate from the University of Freiburg will present his paper: Circle of Fortune: The Long-Term Impact of Western Customs Institution in China.

Registration form to attend the webinar: here.

Abstract: How did colonial institutions affect modern economic outcomes? This paper studies the long-run effect of the customs institution founded by the Chinese Maritime Customs (CMC) – a foreign-run customs agency in the colonial period of China. The identification is based on the transmission of the CMC administration to China’s inland trade system, which was originally organized by the Chinese Native Customs. Under the CMC jurisdiction, Native Customs stations established clear procedural guidelines and improved transparency, discipline and anti-corruption measures. Using the exogenous criterion deciding on which Native Customs stations were reorganized – those located within a 25 km-radius of a CMC customs station -as an instrumental variable, my results show that counties affected by the CMC institution in colonial times are more developed today. Moreover, I find that today’s business and politics in these counties suffer less from corruption, suggesting that the CMC institution transmitted norms of honesty to the local society that persist in the long-run. Finally, I show that the takeover of Native Customs stations induced more historical trade in treaty ports and and better transportation infrastructure today.