Commercialization and Land Distribution:Evidence from the Song Dynasty in 11th Century

Lin Youhong; Li Nan

doi:doi:10.16538/j.cnki.jfe.2016.01.005

Abstract

The impact of commercialization on traditional rural socio-economic polarization in modern China has been long debated by social scientists.Using the data of nonresident/resident household ration and commodity tax destiny in the Northern Song Dynasty,this paper examines the nationwide and regional effects of commercialization on land distribution without the consideration of exogenous shocks of international trade.It arrives at the conclusions as follows:firstly,as for nationwide Northern Song Dynasty,the commercialization level measured by commodity tax destiny is negatively related to land centralization,measured by the proportion of the nonresident households;higher commercialization level leads to lower land centralization;secondly,as for regional markets,commercialization plays an extensive inhibition role in land centralization in regional markets except northwest market;thirdly,the inhibition role of commercialization in land centralization depends on the fact that the improvement of water traffic was the inherent driver of commercial development in the Northern Song Dynasty,and this commercialization formed spontaneously led to more close connection between rural society and markets,and peasants' participation in commerce & handicraft and obtainment of higher returns,thus reducing land centralization.Thus it provides not only more systematic empirical evidence for the studies of Myers(1970) and Brandt(1989) on the promotion role of commercialization in rural land fragmentation in modern China,but also historical experience for current reform of the land system in rural China.