%0 Report
        %A Kung, James Kai-sing
%A Özak, Ömer
%A Putterman, Louis
%A Shi, Shuang
        %T Millet, Rice, and Isolation: Origins and Persistence of the World's Most Enduring Mega-State
        %D 2022
        %8 2022 Jun
        %I Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
        %C Bonn
        %7 IZA Discussion Paper
        %N 15348
        %U https://www.iza.org/publications/dp15348
        %X We propose and test empirically a theory describing the endogenous formation and persistence of mega-states, using China as an example. We suggest that the relative timing of the emergence of agricultural societies, and their distance from each other, set off a race between their autochthonous state-building projects, which determines their extent and persistence. Using a novel dataset describing the historical presence of Chinese states, prehistoric development, the diffusion of agriculture, and migratory distance across 
1° × 1° grid cells in eastern Asia, we find that cells that adopted agriculture earlier and were close to Erlitou – the earliest political center in eastern Asia – remained under Chinese control for longer and continue to be a part of China today. By contrast, cells that adopted agriculture early and were located further from Erlitou developed into independent states, as agriculture provided the fertile ground for state-formation, while isolation provided time for them to develop and confront the expanding Chinese empire. Our study sheds important light on why eastern Asia kept reproducing a mega-state in the area that became China and on the determinants of its borders with other states.
        %K state
%K agriculture
%K isolation
%K social complexity
%K stickiness to China
%K Erlitou
%K East Asia