China Social Science Review

No.1, 2024

From Compilation to Research: The Rise and Transformation of Long-Term Historical Statistics in the West

(Abstract)

Xu Yi and Zhuang Zicheng

Long-term historical statistics is an important basis for the West to construct modern economic growth theory and ensure the discourse power of the Western modernization path. Since the mid-20th century, Western countries have experienced a large-scale rise and transformation of long-term historical statistics in the close interaction between the policy needs and the supply of academia, especially in the past two decades, Western countries have strengthened the construction of various global long-term historical databases. The study of the background, evolution stage, research content, development trend and academic influence of long-term historical statistics in the West is of great reference significance for constructing a long-term historical statistical database with Chinese characteristics and supporting the continuous improvement of the theoretical system of the Chinese path to modernization.