This book, based on in-depth field research at the local level, assesses the different factors that are contributing to the transition to a market economy and the growth of networks in rural China. It analyses the different socio-economic actors - peasant households, out-migrants, family businesses and peasant entrepreneurs, uses the key concept of markets as a nexus of social networks, and identifies three different kinds of 'social capital' - human capital, political capital/status, and network capital. This book demonstrates the importance of socio-political networks and highlights significant regional differences.

Between 1949 and 1979 China was officially self sufficient and under allied trade embargo, this text examines the complicated history of how economic relations between China and the West/Japan developed during that period.

Between 1949 and 1979 China was officially self sufficient and under allied trade embargo, this text examines the complicated history of how economic relations between China and the West/Japan developed during that period.

Contrary to the expectations of many people, China's recent economic growth has not led to the collapse of the Chinese Communist Party. In fact, the Party has recently carried out a peaceful and orderly transition to the so-called fourth generation of leadership, has revitalised itself, and created a new, younger and better trained cadre corps. Despite this successful transformation, there continue to be many problems that the Party will need to overcome if it is to remain in power, including pressures for democratization in both urban and rural areas, widespread corruption, the emergence of new social groups, and increasing dissatisfaction among workers who seem to be losing out in the present transition process. The Chinese Communist Party in Reform explores the current state of the Chinese Communist Party and the many challenges that it faces. It considers the dynamics of development in China, the Party organization, recruitment and management, and the Party's role in society more widely. It concludes by examining the prospects for the future of the Party, including whether it will continue to be able to accommodate socio-economic changes within China and pressures from abroad, and the likely nature of its evolution. Overall, this book provides a comprehensive assessment of the internal dynamics of the Chinese Communist Party and its role in Chinese society.

China Development Research Foundation is one of the leading economic and social think tanks in China, where many of the theoretical foundations and policy details of economic reform were formulated. This book is the second of a series which makes available to an English-speaking audience the work of the individual Chinese economists who were the architects of reform. Guo Shuqing has made major contributions to the thinking underlying China's economic reforms and to the practical implementation of several of those reforms.

This book is part of a series which makes available to English-speaking audiences the work of the individual Chinese economists who were the architects of China’s economic reform. The series provides an inside view of China’s economic reform, revealing the thinking of the reformers themselves, unlike many other books on China’s economic reform which are written by outside observers. Du Runsheng (1913-) has made major contributions to policy making on land reform, rural development and science policy. Politically active from the 1930s, when he served as a guerrilla leader fighting Japanese aggression, and in the 1940s, when he was involved in the War of Liberation (1945-49), he has held many Chinese Communist Party posts. He was secretary-general of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in the late 1950s, responsible for drafting the 1961 policy document which urged respect for intellectuals. Attacked and persecuted during the Cultural Revolution (1966-76), he was for most of the 1980s in charge of research on rural economic reform and rural development strategies. The book is published in association with China Development Research Foundation, one of the leading economic and social think tanks in China, where many of the theoretical foundations and policy details of economic reform were formulated.

This book is part of a series which makes available to English-speaking audiences the work of the individual Chinese economists who were the architects of China’s economic reform. The series provides an inside view of China’s economic reform, revealing the thinking of the reformers themselves, unlike many other books on China’s economic reform which are written by outside observers. Ma Hong (1920-2007) was one of the leading advocates for China’s market-oriented reforms, one of the earliest scholars to adopt the concept of "a socialist market economy". Politically active from the 1930s, when he campaigned against the Japanese occupation, he held many important posts, notably President of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in the 1980s. He was particularly influential in the field of industrial economics, putting to use his own experiences of managing industrial enterprises, and a strong advocate of the need for China’s economic development to be stable. The book is published in association with China Development Research Foundation, one of the leading economic and social think tanks in China, where many of the theoretical foundations and policy details of economic reform were formulated.

This book is part of a series which makes available to English-speaking audiences the work of the individual Chinese economists who were the architects of China’s economic reform. The series provides an inside view of China’s economic reform, revealing the thinking of the reformers themselves, unlike many other books on China’s economic reform which are written by outside observers. Wang Mengkui (1938-) has been Director of the Research Office under the State Council and was President of the State Council’s Development Research Centre from 1998 to 2007. A member of the Party since 1956, he has been responsible for drafting many key Chinese Communist Party documents, including Report on the Work of the Government, presented to the National People’s Congresses. The book is published in association with China Development Research Foundation, one of the leading economic and social think tanks in China, where many of the theoretical foundations and policy details of economic reform were formulated.

The China Development Research Foundation is one of the leading economic and social think tanks in China, where many of the theoretical underpinnings and policy details of economic reform were formulated. This book is the first of a series which makes available to an English-speaking audience the work of the individual Chinese economists who were the architects of reform. The series provides an inside view of China’s economic reform, revealing the thinking of the reformers themselves, unlike many other books on China’s economic reform which are written by outside observers. Xue Muqiao held many key posts including Secretary General of the Finance and Economy Commission of the Government Administrative Council, Director-General of the National Bureau of Statistics and consultant of State Council Office for Restructuring the Economic Systems. His work included eliminating the serious inflation of the early years of the People’s Republic, participating in drafting and implementing the First and Second Five-year Plans, and establishing the initial statistics system and price management system. His great contribution was to the development of economic theories and practice following China’s economic reform.

This book explores rural political change in China from 1850 to 1949 to help us understand China’s transformation from a weak, decaying agrarian empire to a unified, strong nation-state during this period. Based on local gazetteers, contemporary field studies, government archives, personal memoirs and other primary sources, it systematically compares two key macro-regions of rural China – the North China plain and the Yangzi delta – to demonstrate the ways in which the forces of political change, shaped by different local conditions, operated to transform the country. It shows that on the North China plain, the village community composed mainly of owner-cultivators was the focal point for political mobilization, whilst in the Yangzi delta absentee landlordism was exploited by the state for local control and tax extraction. However, these both set the stage, in different ways, for the communist mobilization in the first half of the twentieth century. Peasants and Revolution in Rural China is an important addition to the literature on the history of the Chinese Revolution, and will be of interest to anyone seeking to understand the course of Chinese social and political development.