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Frontiers of Economics in China

ISSN 1673-3444

ISSN 1673-3568(Online)

CN 11-5744/F

邮发代号 80-978

Frontiers of Economics in China  2011, Vol. 6 Issue (4): 616-637   https://doi.org/10.1007/s11459-011-0150-4
  research-article 本期目录
Confucianism and the Legalism: A Model of the National Strategy of Governance in Ancient China
Confucianism and the Legalism: A Model of the National Strategy of Governance in Ancient China
Haiwen Zhou()
Department of Economics, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA 23529, USA
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Abstract

The Confucian school emphasizes family value, moral persuasions, and personal relations. Under Confucianism, there is a free-rider issue in the provision of efforts. Since national officials are chosen through personal relations, they may not be the most capable. The Legalist school emphasizes the usage of incentives and formal institutions. Under the Legalism, the ruler provides strong incentives to local officials which may lead to side effects because some activities are noncontractible. The cold-blood image of the Legalism may alien citizens. By exploiting the paternalistic relationship between the ruler and the ruled under Confucianism and the strength of institution-building under the Legalism, the ruler may benefit from a combination of Confucianism approach and the Legalism approach as the national strategy of governance. As each strategy has its pros and cons, which strategy of is optimal depends on factors such as the minimum enforceable level of public service and the level of institution building costs.

Key wordsConfucianism    Legalism    national strategy of governance    ancient China    incentive provision    culture
出版日期: 2011-12-05
Corresponding Author(s): Haiwen Zhou,Email:hzhou@odu.edu   
 引用本文:   
. Confucianism and the Legalism: A Model of the National Strategy of Governance in Ancient China[J]. Frontiers of Economics in China, 2011, 6(4): 616-637.
Haiwen Zhou. Confucianism and the Legalism: A Model of the National Strategy of Governance in Ancient China. Front Econ Chin, 2011, 6(4): 616-637.
 链接本文:  
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fec/CN/10.1007/s11459-011-0150-4
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fec/CN/Y2011/V6/I4/616
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