The historical determinants of modern economic development have been widely studied since the seminal work of Engerman and Sokoloff (1997, 2002) and Acemoglu et al. (2001, 2002). The literature is largely based on the former European colonies, especially in Africa. Notwithstanding China's long...

This paper shows how colonial powers permanently shaped the pattern of Chinese cities through the establishment of Concessions - foreign enclaves within Chinese cities. Based on a sample of 130 city districts within 10 Chinese cities, we find that districts with Concessions have higher land...

This paper studies the persistent impact of good institutions on economic development in China. By exploiting a British-driven institutional switch in part of China's customs stations in 1902, I find that counties that were more affected by the British customs institutions are also better...