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Confucianism and the Legalism: A model of the national strategy of governance in ancient China

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  • Haiwen Zhou

Abstract

The Confucianism school emphasizes family value, moral persuasions, and personal relations. Under Confucianism, there is a free-rider issue in the provision of efforts. Since national officials are chosen through personal relations, they may not be the most capable. The Legalism school emphasizes the usage of incentives and formal institutions. Under the Legalism, the ruler provides strong incentives to local officials which may lead to side effects because some activities are noncontractible. The cold-blood image of the Legalism may alien citizens. By exploiting the paternalistic relationship between the ruler and the ruled under Confucianism and the strength of institution-building under the Legalism, the ruler may benefit from a combination of Confucianism approach and the Legalism approach as the national strategy of governance. As each strategy has its pros and cons, which strategy of is optimal depends on factors such as the minimum enforceable level of public service and the level of institution building costs.
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  • Haiwen Zhou, 2011. "Confucianism and the Legalism: A model of the national strategy of governance in ancient China," Frontiers of Economics in China, Springer;Higher Education Press, vol. 6(4), pages 616-637, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:frecch:v:6:y:2011:i:4:p:616-637
    DOI: 10.1007/s11459-011-0150-4
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    1. Haiwen Zhou, 2004. "The division of labor and the extent of the market," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 24(1), pages 195-209, July.
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    4. Haiwen Zhou, 2009. "Population Growth And Industrialization," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 47(2), pages 249-265, April.
    5. Shiue, Carol H., 2004. "Local Granaries and Central Government Disaster Relief: Moral Hazard and Intergovernmental Finance in Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century China," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 64(1), pages 100-124, March.
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    7. Lazear, Edward P, 1989. "Pay Equality and Industrial Politics," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 97(3), pages 561-580, June.
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    10. Hanming Fang, 2001. "Social Culture and Economic Performance," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(4), pages 924-937, September.
    11. Haiwen Zhou, 2012. "Internal Rebellions and External Threats: A Model of Government Organizational Forms in Ancient China," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 78(4), pages 1120-1141, April.
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    Cited by:

    1. Haiwen Zhou, 2023. "Impact of international trade under dual labor markets," Bulletin of Economic Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 75(4), pages 917-934, October.
    2. Haiwen Zhou, 2012. "Internal Rebellions and External Threats: A Model of Government Organizational Forms in Ancient China," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 78(4), pages 1120-1141, April.
    3. Haiwen Zhou, 2024. "National integration and institution building," Pacific Economic Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(1), pages 26-43, February.
    4. Haiwen Zhou, 2023. "Unification and Division: A Theory of Institutional Choices in Imperial China," Annals of Economics and Finance, Society for AEF, vol. 24(1), pages 13-37, May.
    5. Haiwen Zhou & Ruhai Zhou, 2023. "Shirking and capital accumulation under oligopolistic competition," Journal of Economic Studies, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 51(2), pages 394-407, September.
    6. Haiwen Zhou, 2023. "State Capacity and Leadership: Why Did China Take off?," Chinese Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 56(1), pages 50-68, January.
    7. Haiwen Zhou, 2021. "Culture, institutions, and long‐run performance," Pacific Economic Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(3), pages 372-391, August.
    8. Siyu Duan & Jun Wang & Hao Yang & Qi Su, 2023. "Disentangling the cultural evolution of ancient China: a digital humanities perspective," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-15, December.
    9. Angyridis, Constantine & Zhou, Haiwen, 2022. "Search, Technology Choice, and Unemployment," MPRA Paper 112064, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Haiwen Zhou, 2018. "A Model of Institutional Complementarities in Ancient China," Eastern Economic Journal, Palgrave Macmillan;Eastern Economic Association, vol. 44(2), pages 286-304, April.
    11. Thomas Barbiero & Haiwen Zhou, 2024. "Culture and Economic Development in Late Comers: Comparing China and India," Working Papers 086, Ryerson University, Department of Economics.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Confucianism; Legalism; national strategy of governance; ancient China; incentive provision; culture; N45; H10; A10;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • A10 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - General
    • H10 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government - - - General
    • N45 - Economic History - - Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation - - - Asia including Middle East

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