Macroeconomics 11th Edition by Michael Parkin

Exercise 1

China was the largest economy for centuries because everyone had the same type of economy-subsistence-and so the country with the most people would be economically biggest. Then the Industrial Revolution sent the West on a more prosperous path. Now the world is returning to a common economy, this time technology- and information-based, so once again population triumphs.
a. Why was China the world's largest economy until 1890?
b. Why did the United States surpass China in 1890 to become the world's largest economy