We use statistical data for the period 2000-2013 to compare the macro-level structure and the core institutions of the banking systems in China and Russia. Our main hypothesis is that, differences in the absolute size and socio-cultural features nothwithstanding, these two systems are...

We develop a principal-agent model to study fiscal capacity in pre-modern China and Japan. Before 1850, both nations were ruled by stable dictators who relied on bureaucrats to govern their domains. We hypothesize that agency problems increase with the eographic size of a domain. In a large...

We develop a principal-agent model to study fiscal capacity in pre-modern China and Japan. Before 1850, both nations were ruled by stable dictators who relied on bureaucrats to govern their domains. We hypothesize that agency problems increase with the geographic size of a domain. In a large...