| The effect of polder construction on the pattern of land ownership is analyzed by developing hypotheses and testing them using land, population, and tax revenue data.; In Part I, the economic importance of the T'ai-hu Basin and the history of its water conservancy projects are described. Economic indicators, such as population and tax contributions for the Liang-che region, indicate that it was one of the wealthiest and most rapidly growing circuits of the Sung realm. Water conservancy work and polder construction are shown to be one of the principal factors responsible for economic growth in the T'ai-hu Basin. The topography and water drainage patterns of Lake T'ai are described. The characteristics of water conservancy work and polder construction in each of the area's six prefectures are surveyed.; In Part II, a framework for analysis of the economic efficiency of water conservancy work and polder construction is presented. It is concluded that wealthy landowners engaged in polder construction enjoyed a gain in consumers' surplus, small holders undiked land suffered a loss in consumers' surplus, and that government taxation policy during the Late Northern and Southern Sung periods can be characterized as an attempt to capture a larger part of the consumers' surplus created by water conservancy work and polder construction.; In Part III, the changes in the structure of local administration as the government tries to increase the efficiency of land tax collection, the rationale and effectiveness of the Public Fields program and the strengthened economic and political position of the large-scale landholding class at the end of the Southern Sung dynasty are examined. |
