Food Self-Sufficiency, Comparative Advantage, and Agricultural Trade: A Policy Analysis Matrix for Chinese Agriculture

Abstract

(Revised) China's rapid economic growth and gradual transition toward a market economy have brought about significant changes in production and consumption patterns and trade behavior in agriculture. In this study the authors assess the comparative advantage and protection of China's major agricultural crops using a modified Policy Analysis Matrix IPAMI and data from 1996 to 1998. Results strongly suggest that China has a comparative advantage in labor-intensive crops and a disadvantage in land-intensive crops.