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Integration and Disintegration in North China's Grain Markets, 1738–1911

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 July 2012

Lillian M. Li
Affiliation:
Professor, Department of History, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore PA 19081

Abstract

An analysis of grain prices from Zhili (Hebei) province in North China for the period from 1738 to 1911 demonstrates that while the province's local grain markets gradually fragmented, the provincial market as a whole simultaneously grew more closely integrated with external markets, first with Fengtian (Manchuria) and later with the Lower Yangzi region. The Qing state's food policies, the deterioration of transport routes, and the condition of rural markets provide a context for understanding these seemingly paradoxical trends.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © The Economic History Association 2000

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