A market-size-only theory of industrialization cannot explain why England developed nearly two centuries before China. One shortcoming of such a theory is its exclusive focus on producers. We show that once we incorporate the incentives of factor suppliers' organizations such as craft guilds,...

This paper examines, theoretically and historically the factors determining market expansion, that is, the extent to which impersonal exchange among more individuals in more transactions over time and space is potentially welfare enhancing. Social and cultural factors determine the exchange...

Private-order contract enforcement institutions motivate compliance by means other than the state’s coercive power and play an important role in any economy. They have been particularly important, however, in pre-modern and developing economies with ineffective court systems. Social and...