The long-run effects of the imperial bureaucracy: Two tales along the Great Wall of Ming China

Abstract

This article examines the long-term effects of the administrative system using the Great Wall as a geographical discontinuity. Using town-level nighttime light luminosity per capita as a measure of economic development, we find that today, luminosity per capita is significantly and robustly higher in towns south of the Great Wall than in those north of it. The holding of resource allocation authority by the administrative hierarchy and the uniform enforcement of justice by hierarchy officials were advantageous for city building and judicial cross-territory enforceability on the south side of the great wall, which had a long-term impact on the imperial bureaucracy.