{"product_id":"9780691265940","title":"Two Paths to Prosperity","description":"Author: Avner Greif\u003cbr\u003eISBN: 9780691265940\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: Princeton University Press\u003cbr\u003eYear first published: 01 Mar 2026\u003cbr\u003ePages: 544\u003cbr\u003eFormat: Hardback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eHow the social organisation of Europe and China shaped their divergent economic and political trajectories over the past millennium.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the eleventh century, when Europe was still backward and poor, China was a rich and sophisticated civilisation. Yet Europe became the birthplace of democracy and the Industrial Revolution, driving the Great Enrichment, while China stagnated until the end of the twentieth century and was always ruled by autocracies. \u003ci\u003eTwo Paths to Prosperity\u003c\/i\u003e traces the emergence of two very different social organisations in premodern China and Europe  the clan and the corporation  showing how they were key factors in the economic and political divergence of these two great civilisations.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn this landmark book, three leading economists offer a bold new account of why Europe and China evolved along such different trajectories. In the early Middle Ages, public goods like risk sharing, religious worship, education, and conflict resolution were provided by nonstate organizations in both societies. China increasingly relied on kin-based cooperation within clans, while weaker kinship ties in Europe gave rise to corporations such as guilds, universities, and self-governing towns. Despite performing similar functions, clans and corporations were built on very different principles  with lasting consequences until today.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eProviding a novel answer to a fundamental question in economic and political history, \u003ci\u003eTwo Paths to Prosperity\u003c\/i\u003e shows how extended kinship in Chinese society facilitated the consolidation of autocracy and hindered innovation and economic development, and how corporations in Europe influenced emerging state institutions and set the stage for the Industrial Revolution.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Ships in 10 to 15 days","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46803901972638,"sku":"ADS-9780691265940","price":69.78,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0400\/9043\/5742\/files\/9780691265940.jpg?v=1778206975","url":"https:\/\/classicbargains.com.au\/products\/9780691265940","provider":"Classic Bargains Australia","version":"1.0","type":"link"}