Civilizing and economy

Cossack_PL said:

I'm trying Sikh Empire in NNM (basically vanilla Punjab) and without land reform I find it impossible to maintain 0 tariffs and high education and administration spending at the same time. What's the best solution?
a) rush to westernize no matter of costs - take only cost-effective reforms, so no land reform, therefore my spending will stay <50%.
b)take land reform first and hope it to make my economy run smooth
c) raise tariffs, which may make my artisans unable to buy inputs and enter poverty cycle
d) keep only education slider high while neglect the administration - crime may be bad

Click to expand...

The first is risky as revolts can be common and large via that tact.

If you're playing HOD then just take a military reform first, then conquer a neighboring state for some extra research points. Use those on land reform.

Cossack_PL said:

I'm trying Sikh Empire in NNM (basically vanilla Punjab) and without land reform I find it impossible to maintain 0 tariffs and high education and administration spending at the same time. What's the best solution?
a) rush to westernize no matter of costs - take only cost-effective reforms, so no land reform, therefore my spending will stay <50%.
b)take land reform first and hope it to make my economy run smooth
c) raise tariffs, which may make my artisans unable to buy inputs and enter poverty cycle
d) keep only education slider high while neglect the administration - crime may be bad

Click to expand...

Best Solution: Tarriffs. As low as you can to keep a slight positive balance.

What does everyone know about tariffs that I don't? I keep tariffs fairly high when I play Persia with no problem.

Yeah, Tarriffs hurt industry and artisans. With no industry, crush the artisans with tariffs because they'll demote into something worth a damn. Or am I missing some detail?

Full tariff = less artisans = more soldiers and clergy = faster civilization.
Administration slider is less important on start anyway - research points and conquest are better

Tariffs can help industry, if you have a large base of raw resources but little industry. It's possible that you get into a situation where you export all your goods, then use the money to buy industrial products. (As many developing countries still do today.) With tariffs, you make it profitable to start businesses locally, instead, and once you have an industrial base and are competitive, it makes sense to pursue free trade for maximum economic efficiency. The tactic worked as well in the 1800s as it does today.

High tariffs are good to help to eliminate Artisans, which in the long run is a good thing, however there are some serious issues with keeping your tariffs high as an unciv.

01. Your POPs will have to spend MUCH more to meet their needs. (Life->Everyday->Luxury) It is already going to be hard enough to even get your POPs Life needs met based on how little the are likely getting payed as an unciv. Plus you may not be able to import much in the first place because you will be so low on the order for purchasing (rank). Not getting needs met is going to lead to higher MIL, you may get into a situation where your MIL is going up naturally. This coupled with the big MIL jumps from reforms is going to lead to more reactionaries than you can handle. (High Tax is also going to be an issue but not nearly as much as your Tax efficiency will be low).

02. You might get sphered. If you get sphered by a GP your Tariff income is going to virtually disappear.

03. Supporting / Recruiting Units. Support costs are going to go up. Even if you keep land purchases at 0 while not at war (not a good idea as an unciv because rebels might beat you). You need to raise land support if you are going to win wars for research points.

I personally ALWAYS start with Land Reform as my first when playing as an unciv. Japan's ability to decide for the Early Meiji Restoration (Land Reform) is what makes Japan so fun / easy to Westernize.

Japan should never choose land reform first. Pick military for more conquest points and hit Korea.

When early meiji restoration decision is enacted, Japan get FREE land reform And from conquest whole Korea player get 25k RP, even without any land reform