新制度经济学视阈下的明朝禁海政策

Ming Dynasty's Prohibit to Marine Transportation under New Institutional Economics Perspective

明朝漠视宋元以来海运业的发展成果而强制禁海,一方面,重创民间海运业,海盗绵延,沿海"不治",海洋贸易损失巨大;另一方面,漕粮由海运改回为河运后弊病深重,寻租丛生,漕运日益艰难,成为政府的沉重负担,并激化了社会矛盾。在新制度经济学的视阈下,郑和下西洋的辉煌不能掩盖明朝禁海高昂的制度成本,特别是中国部分地失去了全球贸易中的制海权和话语权,失去了进入现代社会的演进机遇。扭曲内在规律和激励结构的政策,必将严重影响交换和生产成本,代价将异常惨重,这是明朝禁海留下的制度遗产。

Ming Dynasty rigorously enforced a threatened ban on marine transportation, totally ignoring its developing achievements from Song and Yuan Dynasty. This leaded to a series of consequences. On the one hand, the nongovernmental marine transportation industry collapsed at once, pirates＇ hazards lasted very long time, and ocean trade experienced huge loses. On the other hand, under new institutional economics perspective, the brilliant navigation of Zheng He couldn＇t conceal the huge regime cost, especially that China partly lost the sea supremacy and the right to speech, and lost the evolution opportunity to enter the modern society. The policy which distorts economical inner rule and incentive structure will heavily affect the cost of exchange and production. The social cost will be very huge. This is the institutional heritage of Mine Dvnastv＇s prohibit to Marine Transportation.