Economic Cycles and Price Theory in Early Chinese Texts
Prof. Dr. Paul R. Goldin
University of Pennsylvania, Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations
Research stay: July 2016
Economic Cycles and Price Theory in Early Chinese Texts
Cycles such as the year with its seasonal rhythm and the duodecennial cycle of Jupiter have two consequential features in early Chinese economic thought: they are foreseeable and they affect prices. A wise ruler will consequently buy goods when they are at their cheapest in the cycle, and sell them when they are at their most expensive. Moreover, because extreme prices can lead to social unrest, rulers should apply the same general insight to stabilize prices by buying and storing surpluses for subsequent sale in times of scarcity. Together with lucrative government monopolies (especially in the salt industry), such techniques promised to raise revenue without the need for onerous taxes.
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