Water Use Construction: Flood Control and Irrigation Projects and Labor Accumulation

Abstract

This paper investigates the process and economic performance of water conservancy construction from the perspective of labor accumulation. In the Mao era, in which there were insufficient capital and surplus labor, the labor-intensive water construction played a particular role in improving agricultural infrastructure and increasing agricultural production. On the other hand, the socialist authoritarian regime could over-mobilized the agricultural labor force and resulted in tragic consequences.