TFP Decline in Ming–Qing China

New historical national accounts show total factor productivity fell in the Yangzi Delta and China under the Ming–Qing, while Britain and the Netherlands saw sustained TFP gains from the 14th–17th centuries. This suggests the Great Divergence began before 1700 and stemmed from regionally divergent innovation trajectories, not only the later Industrial Revolution. — It reframes debates on when and why the West pulled ahead by tying prosperity to long‑run innovation paths and institutional dynamics centuries earlier.