Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP10569
Authors: Jean-Pascal Bassino; Stephen N. Broadberry; Kyoji Fukao; Bishnupriya Gupta; Masanori Takashima
Abstract: Japanese GDP per capita grew at an annual rate of 0.04 per cent between 725 and 1874, but the growth was episodic, with the increase in per capita income concentrated in three periods, 1150-1280, 1450-1600 and after 1730, interspersed with periods of stable per capita income. There is a similarity here with the growth pattern of Britain. The first countries to achieve modern economic growth at opposite ends of Eurasia thus shared the experience of an early end to growth reversals. However, Japan started at a lower level than Britain and grew more slowly until the Meiji Restoration.
Keywords: Britain; GDP per capita; Great Divergence; Growth Reversals; Japan
JEL Codes: N10; N30; N35; O10; O57
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Japanese GDP per capita growth (O49) | foundations of modern economic growth (O43) |
| growth spurts (1150-1280, 1450-1600, post-1730) (N93) | foundations of modern economic growth (O43) |
| Japanese per capita income growth (1450-1600) (N15) | narrowing of income gap with Britain (N14) |
| Black Death (N94) | substantial increase in British per capita incomes (N14) |
| Japan's slower growth trajectory relative to Britain (N15) | broader divergence between Asia and Europe (N95) |