Social Science Research Council

"Paths Toward the Modern Fiscal State: A Comparative Historical Study of England (1660-1757), Japan (1868-1895), and China (1850-1911)"

In my study, I detail the distinct paths to the modern fiscal state taken by England (1660-1757) and Japan (1868-1895) and compare them with China's failure to transform into a modern fiscal state between 1860 and 1911. As theories based upon the rationality of political actors, class interests, and structural socio-economic features cannot satisfactorily explain the origin and consolidation of the institutions of modern fiscal states, I employ the temporally-sensitive concept of institutional learning as induced by chronic fiscal crises of the state. I mainly use secondary literature for the case study of England, and secondary and published primary materials in Japanese for the case study of Japan. For the case of China, which is the least studied, I will examine archival materials dealing with the financial and monetary experiments conducted between 1860-1911. Potential contributions of this project include a concept of the modern fiscal state which has been neglected in the literature of the state in political economy and political sociology and an explanation of institutional origin and development.