Private production and income distribution in a Chinese commune

Abstract

This article is concerned with the extent of inequality between production teams and between households in one commune in the People's Republic of China, and particularly with the effect of income from private production on the distribution of total household income. The authors briefly describe the history and role of private production within the commune system, and report the findings of household a survey conducted to discover the flows of food commodities from both private and collective sources. The authors conclude that private production is not a source of inequality in this commune.