China’s Industrialisation in the Early Twentieth Century: Evidence from Regional Wages

Ye Ma, Beijing Normal University

Historical data on employment and gross output have shown a picture of China’s industrial development in the early twentieth century with significant regional variation. This study examines the regional pattern of industrial development based on the wages of the manufacturing sector. Regional wages in manufacturing also present new evidence of the living standards of China’s industrial labour force, different from regional GDP estimates. This analysis is based on three sources of archival data from official statistics and surveys of the republican period, covering 22 provinces, 7 branches of manufacturing industries, and the period 1910s–1920s. By comparing two centres of industrial production in pre-war China, Jiangzhe and Guangdong regions, this study tries to investigate wage differences between industries and handicraft workshops and between public and private sectors. By comparing these industrial centers with other regions, this study tries to show different stages of industrialisation within pre-war China with more details.

No extended abstract or paper available

 Presented in Session 147. Inequality and Well-Being