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2020 | Buch

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Sustainable Development of Rural Household Economy

Transition of Ten Villages in Zhejiang, China, 1986-2002

verfasst von: Prof. Qinghua Shi, Yan Gao

Verlag: Springer Singapore

Enthalten in: Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" , Springer Professional "Wirtschaft" , Springer Professional "Technik"

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Über dieses Buch

This book focuses on the transition of hundreds of rural households in ten villages in Zhejiang from 1986 to 2002, based on the theme of rural household sustainable development. Drawing on a large amount of first-hand data collected from fixed observation sites for 17 consecutive years, this book has depicted the changes in household behaviour in rural Zhejiang, and analysed the origins of such changes. The contents of the book contain examinations at household and village level. Chapters One to Seven describe the changes in rural behaviour at the household level from different aspects, such as land transfer, saving and borrowing, and rural tax burden. Chapters Eight to Ten analyse the transition concerning household behaviour based on the village level data. This book will help readers with a better understanding of rural China from the micro perspective of household behaviour. This book won the Monograph Award (ranked 1st out of 6 winners in total) in the Third China Rural Development Research Award (2008). It was also awarded theSecond Class Excellent Research Achievement in Humanities and Social Sciences by the Ministry of Education (2009). With the help of rich and detailed first-hand data collected from fixed observation sites in ten villages in Zhejiang for 17 consecutive years, this book gives a panoramic analysis of Chinese rural society in transition from the viewpoint of rural household behaviour. It starts the examination from individual rural households, before develops the investigation to the whole villages, so that the study could be carried out in a coherent, reliable and systematic way. Viewing the countryside from its micro perspective under the national political economy framework, the book steps out of the traditional way of inspecting exclusively the rural households and therefore is able to generalise its conclusion at a macro level. The award selection panel in 2008 believed it a unique monography for understanding the macro transition of the Chinese “agriculture, countryside and peasant (三农)” issues from the micro aspect of household behaviour.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Frontmatter

Chapter 1. Rural Households and Generational Evolution

Abstract

In order to understand key information of household members in the observed villages, such as their age, years of schooling, marriage behaviour, fertility pattern, and decision making over major issues, five out of ten observed villages were selected for an in-depth survey.

Qinghua Shi, Yan Gao

Chapter 2. Transition in Household Economic Structure and Its Origin

Abstract

After China’s WTO entry in the new century, there have been new challenges and opportunities for both Chinese agricultural development and farmers’ income growth. The central government has made a specific deployment to ‘strengthen the adjustment of agricultural structure, march into the depth and breadth of agriculture, and compositely improve the quality and efficiency of agriculture’ as an important measure for China’s agricultural development and farmers’ income increase in the new century. It can be seen that structural transformation is the most significant issue in economic income increase. Based on data from the fixed tracking observation of ten villages in Zhejiang, this chapter will focus on the empirical analysis of the changing trend for rural household economic structure and its origin for 1986–2002. The analysis gives an overview of the basic trend in rural household economic development in the developed coastal areas of China.

Qinghua Shi, Yan Gao

Chapter 3. Farmland, Farmland Transfer and the Origins

Abstract

With the development of rural economy and acceleration of urbanisation in the countryside, the flow of production factors is bound to be enhanced. In the flow of production factors, capital and labour usually attract the greatest attention. Farmland, however, although an important production factor in rural economic development, has received relatively less academic attention in previous research, mostly due to its intrinsic attribute of non-movability and its unique status in rural economic development. Farmland transfer is generally perceived to be the exchange between land owners and users. In traditional rural economy, due to higher dependence of economic development on farmland, farmers would pay relatively more attention to land, viewing the farmland as their lifeblood.

Qinghua Shi, Yan Gao

Chapter 4. Evolution of Saving, Borrowing and Lending Behaviour

Abstract

Rural household saving and lending are important aspects which reflect the development of household economy. With the deepening of China’s reform process, constant change in its financial system, and continuous increase of household income, there have been various changes in household saving and lending behaviour.

Qinghua Shi, Yan Gao

Chapter 5. Imbalanced Economic Development and Its Origin

Abstract

People who have read the book Economics by Paul Samuelson will be impressed by the dialogue between F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway cited at the beginning of the chapter ‘Income and Wealth’.

Qinghua Shi, Yan Gao

Chapter 6. Household Economic Development and Rural Tax and Fee Burden

Abstract

Rural tax and fee burdenis a big problem related to national stability and people’s lives. Since ancient times, those in power in the past have attached great importance to this issue. Li Shimin, the Emperor in the Tang Dynasty once told his officials that ‘water can carry a boat and can also overturn the boat’. He compared himself and his ruling group to the ‘boat’, and the vast majority of the people under the heavens as the ‘water’. What did the stability of a country or regime depend on? It depended on taxes from the people.

Qinghua Shi, Yan Gao

Chapter 7. Changes in Rural Expenditure

Abstract

In daily economic life, consumers are one of the major decision-making units. Their spending or buying activities are known as consumer behaviour in economics. The changes in consumer behaviour is an important part of economic research. A consumer does not usually refer to just an individual person, but also a family (Mansfield, 1992). Such a family usually exists in the form of a household in the countryside. Since the reform and opening up, as an expanded family in rural areas, a rural household’s economic behaviour has changed from the most basic decision-making unit in simple consumption in the collective-farming period to the most fundamental economic decision-making unit in the integration of production and consumption. It is of great practical significance to study the changes in the economic behaviour of this decision-making unit, especially how the changes will initiate the rural consumer market so as to develop appropriate economic policies. This chapter focuses on the consumption of rural households and their members. The research objects are the ten villages under follow-up observation in Zhejiang, and the research time span is from 1986 to 2002.

Qinghua Shi, Yan Gao

Chapter 8. Rural Employment Structure and Its Change

Abstract

Adam Smith, the founder of economics, considered that the real wealth is the annual produce of the land and labour of the society. Although this statement is based on the traditional agricultural society, it is still very valuable for China in the period of transition. The economic development of a region or a country can be understood by the income level of the local people on the one hand, and by the activity of its labour market on the other. Generally speaking, an area with an active labour market must be a relatively developed area. Especially for a market with labour inflows, it must be the case. Zhejiang is one of the regions with fast economic development since the reform and opening up in China. Its economic development has improved from the average level in the initial stage of reform to currently the upper level. Of course, there are many reasons, and one of them is the active labour market. Drawing on data from the ten Zhejiang villages, this chapter takes as the theme the changes in employment structure of labour force, with the aim to reveal the essence of Zhejiang’s economic growth from this aspect.

Qinghua Shi, Yan Gao

Chapter 9. Structural Change of Village Economy and Finance

Abstract

The rural household economic development is not only a matter within an individual household, but also related to national policies, village collective leadership and the geographical environment (Shi, 1999). Therefore, after analysing the evolution of the economic structure and behaviour of rural households, it is necessary to carry out research on the evolution or change in the economic structure of the villages where the rural households are located. Taking the ten villages in Zhejiang as the objects of analysis based on the comprehensive survey data at the village level from 1986 to 2002, this chapter focuses on the analysis of the changes in village economic structure.

Qinghua Shi, Yan Gao

Chapter 10. Community Outlook and Spiritual Civilisation

Abstract

Generally speaking, people know more about rural economic activities from follow-up observation and analysis, but less about rural social change. In fact, observation on rural social change is also an important part of this study. Although the theme of the rural follow-up observations is to observe the economic activities of various organisations in rural areas, it also gives full attention to the social changes of the households under observation. Especially after six continuous years of follow-up observation, the National Observation Office organised domestic experts to assess the observation indicators twice. On the basis of maintaining the original observation characteristics, a large number of social indicators were added. This improvement has laid a solid foundation for broadening the range of observation. This chapter takes observation villages as the analysis unit, focusing on the social changes of these villages.

Qinghua Shi, Yan Gao

Backmatter

Titel: Sustainable Development of Rural Household Economy
verfasst von: Prof. Qinghua Shi
Yan Gao
Verlag: Springer Singapore
Electronic ISBN: 978-981-15-2747-0
Print ISBN: 978-981-15-2746-3
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-2747-0