1933, A Year of No Significance
1933, A Year of No Significance
1933, A Year of No Significance
As a well-established benchmark year for the study of the Republican-era economy, 1933 has been extensively examined through flow variables such as GDP. Nevertheless, systematic quantitative documentation of the national wealth stock and its distributional patterns for this specific year remains underdeveloped.
Drawing on comprehensive secondary archives and verified primary sources, Qing Wang of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) estimates national wealth accumulation and distribution in 1933 and compiles a national balance sheet consistent with standard System of National Accounts (SNA) frameworks. By introducing stock-based macroeconomic accounting, the research complements conventional GDP-centered flow analysis and enriches the quantitative paradigm for studying modern China’s macroeconomy.
This standardized dataset establishes a consistent analytical benchmark for cross-temporal and cross-national comparative research, enabling comparative analysis with global wealth studies exemplified by the work of Professor Thomas Piketty and fellow scholars. Such comparisons facilitate rigorous international dialogue on the mechanisms of historical wealth accumulation and distributional inequality.
In this Quantitative History Webinar, Qing Wang will outline the project’s research design, quantitative methodology, and key empirical findings. It offers a novel stock-based perspective for reinterpreting China’s economic endowments and wealth stratification in 1933, contributing new empirical evidence and analytical insights to quantitative economic history and long-term growth studies.
Discussant: Runzhuo Zhai, Associate Professor, School of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development, Renmin University of China
Date: October 22, 2026
Time: 19:00 – 20:30
19:00 (Hong Kong/Beijing/Singapore)
07:00 (New York)|04:00 (Los Angeles)|12:00 (London)|20:00 (Tokyo)|22:00 (Sydney)
Venue: Zoom Webinar
Language: Mandarin
The Quantitative History (QH) Webinar Series aims to provide researchers, teachers, and students with an online intellectual platform to keep up to date with the latest research in the field, promoting the dissemination of research findings and interdisciplinary use of quantitative methods in historical research. The QH Webinar Series is co-organised by the Centre for Quantitative History at the HKU Business School and the International Society for Quantitative History in partnership with the Hong Kong Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences. The Series is now substantially supported by the Areas of Excellence (AoE) Scheme from the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China (Project No. [AoE/B-704/22-R]).
Conveners: Professors Zhiwu Chen & Chicheng Ma
