Agricultural Transition in China

Description

This book extends current research on the political economy of modern China, with particular regard to agricultural development and its role in economic transition. It uses Neoclassical principles to re-interpret agricultural growth and technological change under complex market institutions with empirical studies on China and selected East Asian economies. The text also questions how technological advances in China contribute to the Great Divergence debate. Through a comparative analysis of agricultural technical changes in the planting of rice paddies in Japan, Taiwan and China, Du finds that different market institutions and structures have given rise to considerable diversity of agricultural change between different economies in terms of the nature, timing and duration of technological transition. Such diversification has, in turn, affected the trajectories of agricultural and wider economic growth. Here, Du reflects on the nature of contemporary Chinese economic development and extends observations on agricultural transition to the entirety of Asia, finding that the nature, timing, and time-span of agriculture technology transitions have varied considerably across different economies. Front Matter ....Pages i-xvii A General Theory Review (Jun Du)....Pages 1-26 Economic Thinking on Chinese Agriculture (Jun Du)....Pages 27-58 State-Led Changes: Failures and Successes (Jun Du)....Pages 59-95 Trends in China’s Grain Production (Jun Du)....Pages 97-122 Agricultural Transition in Taiwan: Towards a Comparative Study with Mainland China (Jun Du)....Pages 123-150 Agricultural Transition in Selected Asian Economies (Jun Du)....Pages 151-174 Conclusion (Jun Du)....Pages 175-184 Back Matter ....Pages 185-194