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Rural China: Economic and Social Change in the Late Twentieth Century
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Comments/Reviews
Description: This book reports the findings of two field studies between 1993 and 2001 in seven townships and six provinces in China. The authors describe the process of rural urbanization and its related economic, social, and political changes by focusing mainly on the zhen (town), in addition to administrative offices and companies involved in the local economy, and village committees.
The authors show that the social changes resulting from China's economic reforms are occurring mainly from below, and that this process is also resulting in a weakening of the economic and political dominance of the central government. Other changes discussed in this study include the development of new ownership structures and the increasing dominance of the private sector; a shift in the functions of administrative offices as the bureaucracy becomes increasingly business oriented; the rise of a new local elite; a rebirth of traditional social structures (clans, local associations); and the emergence of new interest groups and institutions to represent their needs.
Selected Contents:
List of Tables, Figures, and Maps
Preface
1. Introduction
Distinct Features of the Process of Change
Social Change
2. Zhen Settlements: Between Urban and Rural
Preconditions for the Designation of Zhen
The Development of the Number of Zhen
Definition and Development of the Urban Population in Zhen
Perspectives on the Process of Urbanization and the Functions of Zhen
3. Field Research: Fieldwork Procedure and the Surveyed Zhen
Methods in Our Fieldwork Procedures in 1993-1994 and 2000-2001
Empirical Problems Especially During Our First Fieldwork Period, 1993-94
The 1993-1994 and 2000-2001 Case Studies:Zhen Regional Conditions of Development
4. Settlements and Population
Development of Settlements, Infrastructure, and Public and Commercial Institutions
Development of Settlements, Land Utilization, and Infrastructure
ublic and Commerical Institutions
Population Growth and Migration
Development of Population and Migration in Chinese Zhen
Population Development and Migration in the Selected Zhen
Summary
5. Economic Structures and Economic Change
Process of Privatization
Nationwide Development
Private Sector in the Regions Studied in 1993-1994
Structure of Ownership in Rural Areas in the Mid-1990s
Summary
Rural Collective and Private Enterprises
Development and Regional Structure of Rural Enterprises
Township and Village Enterprises
Development and Situation of Zhen-Owned, Village-Owned, and Private Enterprises in the Analyzed Zhen
Summary
The Regional Labor Market in Relation to Rural Collective and Private Enterprises: Results from Our Case Studies, 1993-1994 and 2000-2001
The Rural Labor Market: Transition from Agriculture to Nonagrarian Sectors
Development of Employment, Origin and Engagement of the Workforce
Composition of the Workforce: Age, Gender, and Qualifications
Situation of Employment, Social Security, and Living Conditions
Summary
6.Finance System and Development of Rural Towns (Zhen )
Introduction
Local Budget and Taxes: An Overview
Township- and Town-Level Revenues and Expenditures: Empirical Data of the Analyzed Zhen
Structural Problems of the Towns' and Townships' Public Budgets
Tax Agreement between Township/Town-Level and County/City-Level Governments
Conclusion
7. Processes of Change in Administration and Politics
Increasing Economic Factors of Politics: New Functions of the Local Bureaucracy
Inflation of Local Bureaucracy
Economic Transformation of Bureaucracy
Administration at the County, Zhen , and Village Levels
Cadre System
Administrationon at the County Level
Administration at the Zhen Level
Administration at the Village Level
Problems and Changes of the Traditional Party and Administrative Structures
Problems of the Local Administration Hierarchy: The Relationships among Counties, Zhen , and Villages
County -Zhen Relationship
Zhen-Village Relationship
8. Rise of a New Social Stratification and of New Local Elites
Stratification
New Local Elites
Local Elites at the County Level
Elites at the Zhen Level
Elite at the Village Level
Summary
9. Value Change and Interest Articulation
Changing Attitudes, Values, and Ideology
Attitudes of Staff and Workers in Enterprises at the Zhen -Level
Orientation Toward Traditionalism
Increasing Potential for Protest and Conflict Among the Peasants
Emergence of Interest Associations
Significance of Associations
Rise of New Interest Groups in China
Associations at the County and Zhen Level
Summary
10. Summary and Evaluation
The Role of Zhen in the Economic Process of Development
Stage and Chances for Zhen Development
Zhen as Local Labor Markets
Zhen and Rural Enterprises
Local Administrative Structures
Municipal Development and Land Use
Processes of Social and Political Change
Development of Ownership
Economic Transformation of the Bureaucracy
New Stratification, Change of Elites
Retraditionalism and an Increasing Potential for Conflicts in Rural Areas
Change of Values
Interest Associations
Communalism
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Review(s): Rural China offers a far-reaching and very comprehensive portrayal of the changes that have been at work in China's countryside since the mid-1950s. Chinese Cross Currents
This is a fine and solid scholarly book that deserves much attention. China Review International
Researchers with an interest in sub-provincial levels of government will find in Rural China a wealth of detail and exceptionally valuable insights. ... The book's brave cross-disciplinary approach, its detailed use of original source material, the variety of field sites explored and its wide coverage of issues relating to this under-researched field make it essential reading for anyone interested in comprehending township government and rural enterprises. The China Journal, No. 57
Provides extremely interesting insights into some political aspects of the rural development process in China. ...a good example of development research on an aspect which has often been neglected so far, and it will hopefully motivate similar work in other countries. ...One of the best development studies that has been published in recent years. Quarterly Journal of International Agriculture
    
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