Standards of living in eighteenth century China: regional differences, temporal trends, and incomplete evidence / Kenneth Pomeranz -- Farm labour productivity in Jiangnan, 1620-1850 / Li Bozhong -- Wages, inequality, and pre-industrial growth in Japan, 1727-1894 / Osamu Saito -- Agriculture,...

Why did Europe experience industrialisation and modern economic growth before China, India or Japan? This is one of the most fundamental questions in Economic History and one that has provoked intense debate. The main concern of this book is to determine when the gap in living standards between...