休克疗法与制度移植：新的争论以及1806年后普鲁士和西南德国改革的启示

Shock Therapy and the Transfer of Institutions: The New Debate and Some Lessons from the Post-1806 Reforms in Prussia and Southwestern Germany

经济学界关于休克疗法和渐进主义的争论又有了新的发展,这一次是有关发展中和新兴国家的。法国大革命及其对其他欧洲国家的影响,已经作为一个历史案例,在讨论大爆炸改革策略的优缺点时被屡屡提及。文章为1806年后普鲁士和西南德国改革之间的比较提供了一个特别有趣的历史案例研究,这到目前为止并未得到应有的重视。这个案例研究将揭示社会转型过程中经济和政治之间的深层次互动,因而对不同的经济改革策略的评价不能也不应该脱离对政治初始条件的考量。从最近的改革经验来看,一个特别有趣的发现是,普鲁士可能提供了第一个政府被东易北容克(East-Elbian Junkers)俘获的历史案例。

There is a new debate on shock therapy versus gradualism in economics, this time referring to developing and emerging countries. The French Revolution and its impact on the other European nations have repeatedly been highlighted as a historical example for both the merits and pitfalls of the Big Bang strategy. The paper argues that a comparison between the post-1806 reforms in Prussia and in the southwestern states of Germany offers a particularly interesting historical case study that has not yet received the attention it deserves in economic literature. In particular, the case study shows how deeply intertwined the economic and political dimension of social transformations are, and that different economic reform strategies cannot and should not be evaluated without taking political starting conditions into account. In view of recent reform experiences it is particularly interesting to see that Prussia offers maybe the first historical case of state capture by the East-Elbian Junkers.