High level equilibrium trap
- High level equilibrium trap
The high level equilibrium trap is a concept developed by Mark Elvin to explain why China never underwent an indigenous Industrial Revolution, despite its wealth, stability and scientific advancement.
He cites two principle factors that led to this state of affairs. Firstly, that because the non-mechanized processes in agriculture and industry in China were so well developed and efficient they out-competed early mechanized processes, thus making capital investment in mechanization unprofitable. He also goes on to explain that China's massive size allowed its population to simply migrate to a new region instead of forcing them to develop more efficient mechanized processes when resources became scarce, such as occurred in Europe.
ee also
*Industrial Revolution in China
References
* [http://www-personal.umd.umich.edu/~delittle/elvin.pdf The High-level Equilibrium Trap]
* Mark Elvin, "The high-level equilibrium tr
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