Examines how economic shocks affect bureaucrat selection in China's meritocracy, suggesting implications for talent management.
By examining an international trade regulation of China in 1757, we study how economic shocks influence the selection of bureaucrats in the context of the world’s earliest political meritocracy. Using a unique county-level dataset, we show that areas with greater exposure to the trade-induced economic shock experienced a larger decline in the number of selected bureaucrats. Suggestive evidence suggests that the economic decline related to the regulation made it harder for potential candidates to afford the costs of taking civil service exams. Our results highlight the role of economic conditions in a meritocracy that aims to select talented bureaucrats.
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Cai et al. (2026) studied this question.
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