1st Edition

The Growth of Market Relations in Post-Reform Rural China A Micro-Analysis of Peasants, Migrants and Peasant Entrepeneurs

By Hiroshi Sato Copyright 2003
    256 Pages
    by Routledge

    256 Pages
    by Routledge

    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.

    1. Introduction 2. Network Capital, Political Capital, and Bazaar Economy in Rural Yunnan: Family Business Survey in a Periodic Market 3. TVE Reform and the Patron-Client Networks between Peasant Entrepreneurs and the Local Government: Sunan vs. Wenzhou Model Reconsidered 4. Migration, the Job Search, and the Social Networks: Three Surveys on Rural-Urban Migration 5. How Does Local Government Try to Mobilize the Social Networks?: Micro Political Economy of Microfinance in Rural Yunnan 6. Income Generation and Access to Economic Opportunities: A Comparative Village Analysis 7. The Continuity and Vitality of Small Peasant Households: A Case Study of Household Bahaviour under the Commune System 8. Concluding Remarks: Marketization and Networks in Postreform Rural China

    Biography

    Hiroshi Sato is Professor of Chinese Economy and Society at the Graduate School of Economics, Hitotsubashi University, Tokyo, Japan. His research interests are economic and social behaviour of household, labour market formation, distribution of household incomde, and poverty alleviation.

    'This volume contains an abundance of first-hand information about China's peasants, migrants and peasant entrepreneurs, and deepens our understanding of the transition that is currently underway in rural China.' - Pacific Affairs

    Review in China Review International: Vol. 11, No. 1, Spring 2004