Rural Reform In China Research Articles

Land Rights in Rural China: Facts, Fictions and Issues

China's rural economic reforms radically altered land tenure in rural China. With the granting of land use rights and residual income rights to farming households between 1979 and 1983, agriculture shifted from a collective-based to a familybased system. Land was not privatized, however. Ownership remained "collective", with local officials, typically at the village level, exercising a major influence over the allocation of land and the way households could use land. The initial land allocations to families were typically based on household size, household labour supply, or both. The central government's policy was that these allocations were supposed to be for 15 years. In some villages, land use contracts have been respected; in other villages, however, local leaders have periodically redistributed land among households and have intervened throughout the reform period to determine how farmers are able to use the land. The initial reforms triggered an unprecedented acceleration of agricultural growth in China. From 1979 to 1984, the gross value of agricultural output increased in real terms at an annual rate of 7.6 per cent, and grain production rose by 4.9 per cent annually.' Empirical studies attribute a significant part of this increase to enhanced incentives, as farmers were able to keep the output and

The Evolution of Shareholding Enterprise Reform in Rural China: A Manager Empowerment Thesis

hareholding reform is one of the preferred prescriptions for revitalizing S the efficiency of public enterprises in reform China. The idea has been received favourably by Chinese economists and Party leaders2 and gradual reform measures encompassing this idea have been introduced since the early 1990s.3 The concern of this paper is with its application in the countryside. By 1995, 12 percent of all enterprises owned by townships or villages in rural China had adopted various forms of shareholding reform4 and, at the end of the twentieth century, such organizational innovation had became the central feature of the further development of rural enterprises. The purpose of this paper is not to provide a summary of these reforms during the last ten years. Instead, it focuses primarily on the application of the shareholding principle to the restructuring of collectively owned enterprise at the township level. By analyzing the development of a case in Shandong province, it attempts to explain the evolution of rural shareholding reform in terms of the changing balance of power over economic management at grassroots level. It highlights the importance of

Two Decades of Rural Reform in China: An Overview and Assessment

China's countryside has been the target of dramatic change since 1949. The CCP directed redistribution in land reform, the transformation away from private farming to collectivization, and, most recently, the move back to household production. Throughout the PRC's 50 years, agriculture and peasants have paid for the regime's ambitious programme of industrialization, as the price scissors consistently favoured the urban over the rural producers. The state struggled with its food producers over the grain harvest, using ideology and organization to maximize both the production and extraction of the surplus from the countryside.

The politics of famine and reform in rural China

While the causes of the Great Leap Famine must be sought in politics, the general literature has tended to place too much emphasis on the role of top leaders. Focusing on the commune mess hall as a key institutional link, the paper points to systematic patterns in the incidence of famine across the provinces and suggests that these patterns were embedded in China's political history dating back to the communist takeover. The paper also argues that the Great Leap Famine induced profound disillusionment with agrarian radicalism and laid the cognitive and political foundations for dismantling the commune system in China.

Women's Work in Rural China: Change and Continuity in an Era of Reform.

Since 1978, reform policies introduced in rural China have had a profound impact on women's work and gender divisions of labour. This book provides detailed information on shifts in women's work patterns. It explains how and why these shifts have come about, and how they relate to women's position in society. While other aspects of reform in rural China have been analysed extensively, this is one of very few, and to date the most comprehensive studies of the effects of reform on rural women.

Women's work in rural China: change and continuity in an era of reform

Since 1978, reform policies introduced in rural China have had a profound impact on women's work and gender divisions of labour. This book provides detailed information on shifts in women's work patterns. It explains how and why these shifts have come about, and how they relate to women's position in society. While other aspects of reform in rural China have been analysed extensively, this is one of very few, and to date the most comprehensive studies of the effects of reform on rural women.

Communal Dining and the Chinese Famine of 1958–1961

Communal Dining and the Chinese Famine of 1958–1961

Education, Enterprise Organization, and Productivity in the Chinese Paper Industry

Previous articleNext article No AccessEducation, Enterprise Organization, and Productivity in the Chinese Paper IndustryBelton M. Fleisher, Keyong Dong, and Yunhua LiuBelton M. Fleisher Search for more articles by this author , Keyong Dong Search for more articles by this author , and Yunhua Liu Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Economic Development and Cultural Change Volume 44, Number 3Apr., 1996 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/452232 Views: 5Total views on this site Citations: 15Citations are reported from Crossref Copyright 1996 The University of ChicagoPDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article:M Niaz Asadullah, Saizi Xiao Labor Market Returns to Education and English Language Skills in the People's Republic of China: An Update, Asian Development Review 36, no.11 (Mar 2019): 80–111.https://doi.org/10.1162/adev_a_00124Christophe Muller, Christophe J. Nordman Task organization, human capital, and wages in Moroccan exporting firms, Middle East Development Journal 6, no.22 (Nov 2014): 175–198.https://doi.org/10.1080/17938120.2014.961326Margaret Maurer-Fazio Labor Reform in China: Crossing the River by Feeling the Stones, (Jan 2014): 75–86.https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137469960_5Martin Carnoy, Prashant Loyalka, Greg V. Androushchak, Anna Proudnikova The Economic Returns to Higher Education in the BRIC Countries and Their Implications for Higher Education Expansion, SSRN Electronic Journal (Jan 2012).https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2005696Go Yano, Maho Shiraishi, Xohrat Mahmut What caused the ‘marginal-products-of-labour wage gap’ in state-owned enterprises in China during the early-reform era? A reconsideration based on a case study in Henan, Journal of Chinese Economic and Business Studies 9, no.33 (Aug 2011): 217–238.https://doi.org/10.1080/14765284.2011.592351Belton M. Fleisher, Xiaojun Wang Returns to schooling in China under planning and reform, Journal of Comparative Economics 33, no.22 (Jun 2005): 265–277.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jce.2005.03.006Yuriy Gorodnichenko, Klara Sabirianova Peter Returns to schooling in Russia and Ukraine: A semiparametric approach to cross-country comparative analysis, Journal of Comparative Economics 33, no.22 (Jun 2005): 324–350.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jce.2005.03.007Dennis Tao Yang Education and allocative efficiency: household income growth during rural reforms in China, Journal of Development Economics 74, no.11 (Jun 2004): 137–162.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2003.12.007Belton M. Fleisher, Xiaojun Wang Skill differentials, return to schooling, and market segmentation in a transition economy: the case of Mainland China, Journal of Development Economics 73, no.11 (Feb 2004): 315–328.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2002.12.002Belton M. Fleisher, Xiaojun Wang Returns to Schooling in China Under Planning and Reform, SSRN Electronic Journal (Jan 2004).https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.566083Belton M. Fleisher, Xiaojun Wang Potential residual and relative wages in Chinese township and village enterprises, Journal of Comparative Economics 31, no.33 (Sep 2003): 429–443.https://doi.org/10.1016/S0147-5967(03)00071-4Belton M. Fleisher, Xiaojun Wang Efficiency Wages and Work Incentives in Urban and Rural China, Journal of Comparative Economics 29, no.44 (Dec 2001): 645–662.https://doi.org/10.1006/jcec.2001.1737Liu Yunhua, Chew Soon Beng, Li Wenzhi Education, experience and productivity of labor in China's township and village enterprises: the case of Jiangsu province, China Economic Review 9, no.11 (Mar 1998): 47–58.https://doi.org/10.1016/S1043-951X(99)80003-0Belton M. Fleisher, Jian Chen The Coast–Noncoast Income Gap, Productivity, and Regional Economic Policy in China, Journal of Comparative Economics 25, no.22 (Oct 1997): 220–236.https://doi.org/10.1006/jcec.1997.1462Yue Ximing, Terry Sicular, Li Shi, Björn Gustafsson, Björn A. Gustafsson, Li Shi, Terry Sicular Explaining Incomes and Inequality in China, (): 88–117.https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511510922.004

Labour Migration of China

Accompanying the open door policy and economic reform, a dynamic population movement in China is occurring. International population movement of China is characterized mainly by the phenomenon of brain drain and illegal emigrants. Two-thirds of the overseas Chinese students stayed overseas, resulting in a severe shortage of middle aged professors and researchers in China. Illegal Chinese emigration into North America and Europe in recent years was considerable. Internal labour migration in China now is a big social and economic issue, numbering up to 60 million. Although instability accompanies mass internal migration, the possibility of turmoil or riots is very low. Further rural reform in China, there fore, is called for to solve the surplus labour problem.

Food demand in rural China: evidence from rural household survey

The recent rural reforms in China have had great effects on agricultural production and productivity as well as rural household consumption. While much has been written on production and productivity effects of these reforms, very few Chinese studies have attempted to analyze the changes in rural consumption patterns. This paper uses a dynamic AIDS model to estimate various food demand parameters for Chinese rural households using rural household survey data recently released by the China State Statistical Bureau. The results show that all important food commodities including rice, wheat, coarse grains, vegetables, meat, tobacco and alcohol have positive expenditure elasticities. Rice, wheat and coarse grains are necessities, while meat, vegetables, alcohol and tobacco are luxuries. The expenditure elasticities for rice, coarse grains and tobacco are declining, but those for wheat, meat, vegetables and alcohol are increasing. As per capita income rises and population increases, the demand for these items will continue to increase. Therefore, China must continue to increase its food production by a greater rate in the future in order to avoid food shortages.

Food demand in rural China: evidence from rural household survey

AbstractThe recent rural reforms in China have had great effects on agricultural production and productivity as well as rural household consumption. While much has been written on production and productivity effects of these reforms, very few Chinese studies have attempted to analyze the changes in rural consumption patterns. This paper uses a dynamic AIDS model to estimate various food demand parameters for Chinese rural households using rural household survey data recently released by the China State Statistical Bureau. The results show that all important food commodities including rice, wheat, coarse grains, vegetables, meat, tobacco and alcohol have positive expenditure elasticities. Rice, wheat and coarse grains are necessities, while meat, vegetables, alcohol and tobacco are luxuries. The expenditure elasticities for rice, coarse grains and tobacco are declining, but those for wheat, meat, vegetables and alcohol are increasing. As per capita income rises and population increases, the demand for these items will continue to increase. Therefore, China must continue to increase its food production by a greater rate in the future in order to avoid food shortages.

Implementing Political Reform in China's Villages

Why has it been exceedingly difficult to restructure China's village-level, political institutions? Over and above hurdles arising from belated leadership support and bureaucratic squabbling, implementation of The Organic Law of Villagers' Committees has depended on how villagers and local cadres perceive their interests and understand their resources. Although the Law does not generate a single pattern of concerted, localist opposition, aspects of it alienate one or another affected party almost everywhere. Outside the singularly favorable conditions found in not poor, "up-to-standard" villages with a strong collective sector, cadre resistance and villager skepticism have been considerable. In many paralyzed, authoritarian, and "run-away" localities, balancing demands to increase state penetration and popular participation have impinged on the interests of both cadres and villagers and simultaneous acceptance of both key aims of the Law has proven to be difficult to secure.

Continuity and change in China's rural development: collective and reform eras in perspective

This book is a detailed study of rural reform in China. After the death of Mao, and with the ascendency of Deng Xiaoping in 1978, China began a programme of agricultural reform intended to increase productivity. Three major changes moved the agricultural sector from a centrally planned system to a more market-oriented system. First, replacement of collective teams by farming by households. Second, an increase in free markets for rural products, and increase in state prices for farm products, and the partial elimination of the two-tier price system. Third were changes in the economic structure that facilitied greater productivity and a 250% increase in average real rural incomes between 1979 and 1986. This book is unique in that it studies a single township (Dahe in Hebei Province) in depth over the two periods, thus providing a great deal of data about the effects of the reform at the village level. Available in OSO: http://www.oxfordscholarship.com/oso/public/content/economicsfinance/9780195078725/toc.html

The Impact of Economic Reforms in the Chinese Countryside

The economic reform policies of the past five years have brought far-reaching changes throughout the Chinese countryside. However, contrary to conventional models of the policy process in state socialist societies, wherein authoritarian elites impose their will on an inert or recalcitrant population, the rural reforms in China have seen policymakers struggling to adjust to, and keep up with, powerful pressures for change from below. (For different views of this policy process, see Unger, 1986, and Watson, 1986.) In consequence, the changes have far exceeded the initial expectations of policymakers; many of the implications were not anticipated and are still only partly understood. At this stage, it is difficult for a foreign analyst to draw a clear picture of Chinese rural realities. This article is being written, therefore, more to raise questions and provoke debate than establish firm conclusions. It argues that rural economic reform policies are in the process of transforming fundamentally the character of Chinese rural society. In so doing, they are transforming the structural and institutional matrix of rural politics, generating new patterns of power and new axes of political conflict and cooperation, and redefining issue agendas and rules of the political game. Most crucially, there is a strong tendency for the reforms to generate a process of dynamic rural capitalism

Population policy and rural reform in China, 1977–1984: Policy implementation and interdependency at the local level

Population policy and rural reform in China, 1977–1984: Policy implementation and interdependency at the local level

Towards an appraisal of the impact of rural reform in China, 1978–85

China's economic institutions have been radically transformed since 1978. The most dramatic changes have been in the countryside where a virtual 'de-collectivisation' has taken place (see Nolan, 1983) with profound direct effects on the 800 million rural dwellers, as well as important implications for China's 200-odd million urban population.1 The significance of these changes goes beyond China's boundaries. Their self-evident success in stimulating output growth must lead to a wide ranging reassessment of the appropriateness of collective institutions in agriculture. It is no surprise that a delegation of Soviet economists in China early in 1985 showed special interest in the agricultural reforms. In contemporary China, official policy changes so fast as to render obsolete any appraisal of their prospective consequences and to make forecasts somewhat akin to astrology. And, given the severely incomplete (while rapidly improving) statistical base, analysis of the past still borders on archaeology. Nonetheless, evidence from a wide range of sources, both official and informal, as well as written, oral, and visual, is sufficient to construct a reasonably comprehensive picture of the impact of the agricultural reforms of 1978-83. This article examines two main issues. The first section looks at some important indicators of the performance of the rural economy and considers some of the main factors that have affected it. The second section examines the impact of the reforms on inequality and poverty in the countryside.

Rural Nonfarm Employment in Developing Countries

Discussions of rural development policy are for the most part focused on the tenurial, institutional, technical, infrastructural, and economic aspects of agricultural development. In contrast, nonfarm activities in agricultural regions receive little attention, and a number of models of agrarian economies with nonfarm activities have even predicted a decline of such activities with agricultural development.' In this paper we show that nonfarm activities in agricultural regions expand quite rapidly in response to agricultural development and merit special attention in the design of rural-and also of urban-development strategies. The poorest groups of the world's rural population include those who depend on nonfarm activities as a source of employment and income. Nonfarm activities also supply a range of goods and services to agriculture and the rural population, contributing to the growth of agricultural output and the improvement in living conditions in rural areas. Finally, the concentration and growth of nonfarm activities in rural towns localizes employment opportunities for people who leave agriculture and acts to stimulate a degree of decentralization of urban growth.

The Problem of Social Cost

The Problem of Social Cost