The 5^th Asian Historical Economics Conference held by Asian Historical Economics Society was convened in Seoul National University on Sep. 2 to Sep.3. Associate Professor Guan Hanhui, Assistant Professor Hao Yu, and 2015 graduates Zhao Yuheng attended the conference.

Asian Economic History Society, based in Japan, was established in 2008 and held first time in the same year. It aims at promoting economic history research and cooperation in Asia. The conference is held biennially and in 2010 SEPKU has been involved in organizing the second annual meeting held in Beijing.

Guan reported his paper Denationalization of Money: A Research Based on China’s Experience at Western Han Dynasty, 175 B.C. - 144 B.C. on the meeting. Based on empirical studies of numismatics and archaeological discoveries, he provides empirical support for Hayek’s “Currency Non-State Theory” and amended Hayek’s view that the coinage right shall be a government monopoly in order to implement monetary freedom in the era of metal coinage period.

Hao’s conference paper Friends from Afar: Migration, Cultural Proximity and Primary Schooling in the Lower Yangzi, 1850-1949 takes advantage of the lower Yangti surname database to verity the hypothesis that cultural distance between migrants and indigenous people will hinder the supply of public goods. He also pointed out public decision-making quality decline may be the main way of cultural distance hinder the supply of public goods.

Zhao’s paper The Afterglow of the Empire: A Discussion on Great Divergence from Administrative Distance and Trade inside China capitalizes on the political gap between regions to explain the food market integration degree decline in mid-Qianlong (1841-1880) period. He pointed out that before the Industrial Revolution Chinese market integration has faced increasing internal obstacles.