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FEDERALISM AND THE BALANCE OF POWER: CHINA'S HAN AND TANG DYNASTIES AND THE ROMAN EMPIRE
Author(s) -
Edwards Ronald A
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
pacific economic review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.34
H-Index - 33
eISSN - 1468-0106
pISSN - 1361-374X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-0106.2009.00430.x
Subject(s) - empire , balance (ability) , china , central government , power (physics) , government (linguistics) , federalism , administration (probate law) , key (lock) , institutional change , economics , political science , public administration , political economy , local government , law , politics , medicine , linguistics , philosophy , physics , quantum mechanics , physical medicine and rehabilitation , ecology , biology
. This paper compares the institutional history of the Han Dynasty (206 BC–AD 220), Tang Dynasty (AD 618–AD 906) and the Roman Empire (27 BC–AD 476). I document a common institutional reform in all three cases: the central government assumed power to appoint key regional officials and diffused authority across a greater number of regional officials. I argue that this served to increase coordination costs among key regional officials, making rebellion and resistance to central directives more costly. As a result, this institutional reform shifted the balance of power toward the central government, giving it more control.