权力结构、土地平等与国家发展

Power Structure,Land Equality and National Development

权力结构是权力资源在利益集团间的分配格局,不同类型的权力结构决定了国家间发展绩效的差异。从政治经济学视角出发,作者构建了权力平等发展理论这一新的国家发展动力理论框架:权力结构是决定国家发展的首要因素,平等型权力结构能为发展提供持久动力,集中型权力结构阻碍发展;在权力平等基础上的土地平等是国家实现发展的主要路径;权力结构的变迁和国家发展都具有周期性。具体而言,国家的发展遵循如下机制:高度不平等引发的危机开启了权力平等化进程,农民集团权力地位的提升可促进土地平等,土地平等能够推动家庭农场经济繁荣和收入分配平等,由此开启了劳动密集型工业化、经济结构升级和社会全面平等的良性循环;经济社会的平等化进程又能助推公民共同体、强大政党和高效政府的形成,从而实现包容型的政治发展。如果一国的集中型权力结构长期持续,由其支持的土地集中会带来经济社会不平等,抑制供给与需求,进而形成寻租腐败型社会、经济依附和政治庇护主义,最终该国将落入发展陷阱。基于61个国家1980—2020年数据的量化研究确认了权力平等、土地平等与发展绩效呈高度正相关,对韩国、墨西哥和美国案例的研究则验证了两种发展机制。

Power structure is a pattern of distribution of power resources among interests groups,and various power structures result in different development performance.The authors put forward a new theoretical framework called theory of power equality development,which is based on power game from the perspective of political economics. Its main points include: a country’s power structure is the primary factor determining its development performance,and an equal power structure is conducive to promoting development,while a centralized power structure hinders development;land equality based on power equality is the main path to achieve development;the change of power structure is cyclical. The mechanism of national development is: the crisis triggered by high inequality starts the process of power equality, during which it is possible to achieve land equality given the increase of power resource of the peasant group. Land equality promotes the economic prosperity of family farms and the equality of income distribution, thus starting a virtuous circle of labor-intensive industrialization, economic structure upgrading and overall economic and social equality;the process of economic and social equality can also help to consolidate the equal power structure and jointly create a civil community,a strong political party and an efficient government,so as to achieve inclusive political development. The mechanism of the development trap is: in the process of a country ’s centralized power structure being never broken,the economic and social inequality brought about by the land centralization supported by it inhibits supply and demand,thus forming a rent-seeking and corrupt society,economic dependence and political clientelism,which leads to the country into a development trap. The empirical part of this paper uses two methods: statistical analysis and case study. Based on the quantitative research on the data of 61 countries from 1980 to 2020,the highly positive correlation between power equality,land equality and development performance is confirmed. The case studies of South Korea,Mexico and the United States verify the two development mechanisms.