Give a topic Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Give a topic - Research Paper Example This was mainly driven by the steadily growing population which gave rise to a growth in agriculture, trade and industry (Fairbank & Merle 89). China’s economy in this period was based on agriculture and all other sectors were either drawing from it or servicing it. In the era of the Song dynasty, China’s agricultural system was the most productive worldwide. However, China’s fast raising population quickly led to a decline in labor costs towards the 19th century (Fairbank & Merle 93). To overcome the situation, industrial producers started substituting labor for capital goods whenever the chance presented itself. Similarly, Japan’s population grew in the same period. A national unifier named Tokugawa Ieyasu established a dynasty after victory in battle. This gave way to changes including bringing in new crops from the West and Chinese technology in civil works. More land was put under irrigation. The government, under Tokugawa, opened up trade with the We stern world and encouraged its people to take part in economic activities. It promoted industrialization by helping private businesses in allocation of resources and planning, while the private sector stimulated economic growth (Mosk 41). But unlike China, Japan’s growing population did not bring about a decline in labor costs. In the 19th century, China and Japan were faced with similar situations of advancing industrialization with moderately low productivity levels in agriculture. Low agricultural productivity translated into low wages, and this factor presented both a challenge and an advantage (Fairbank & Merle 104). It meant that the labor supply in agriculture was elastic enough to move to manufacturing, which was an advantage. However, the challenge was how the farm labor could be freed up for employment in the factories by raising productivity of labor in farming. The different decisions made by the two countries to raise productivity of