Job market paper
Loyalty, Competence, and the Allocation of Office under Threat
Evidence from Qing China
How does the kind of threat a state faces change which offices rulers give to politically connected insiders? Using annual records of provincial officials in Qing China, 1825–1911, I compare changes in the representation of the dynasty’s hereditary service elite following rebellions and foreign wars. Rebellion is followed by a rise in insiders’ representation among governors-general and governors; no comparable rise is detected after foreign war. The evidence is strongest for the provincial executive, while differences in the threat contrast across offices are not established.
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