DIVIDED WE STAND, UNITED WE FALL: THE HUME‐NORTH‐JONES MECHANISM FOR THE RISE OF EUROPE*
提出一个机制解释欧洲为何超越东方帝国：欧洲国家体系下，统治者为了争夺流动税基而被迫提供更安全的产权，从而促进资本积累和增长；而帝国因税基被俘获，更容易实施掠夺。
The “great divergence” between Europe and the rest of the world occurred relatively recently. What enabled Europe, with all its laggards, to dominate the previously successful Eastern economies? This article emphasizes one important mechanism, highlighting the contrast between the European states system and Eastern empires. Political competition for a mobile tax base in a states system forces rulers to provide relatively more secure property rights. By effectively limiting the “exit” options of the ruled, an empire rewards its ruler with a captive tax base that can be subjected to higher levels of expropriation. As a result, the states system encourages faster capital accumulation and growth.