Structural Transformation and Agricultural Development: General Theory and Chinese Practice

Author: Ma Xiaohé
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-06-01
Features: Different institutional choices not only affect the mode of structural transformation but also influence the formation of industrial relations. Before 1978, China adopted a planned economy system to prioritize the development of heavy industry, creating a dual economic structure with rural areas focused on agriculture and urban areas on industry. After the reform and opening-up, China developed a new dual industrialization pattern with coexistence of rural and urban industries, leading to new changes in resource allocation and wealth creation between urban and rural areas, as well as between industry and agriculture. This transformation exhibits clear characteristics of a dual-dualistic structure. The formation of a dual-dualistic structure is not inevitable; it is a special product of the process of institutional transformation. In the new era, China should implement a dual-industrial integration development strategy to transform the dual-dualistic structure into a single-dualistic structure. To achieve this, China must continue to uphold reform and adopt policies and institutional arrangements for urban-rural integration. The book explores a particularly striking topic in modern economic development: the relationship between agricultural development and the overall change in the socio-economic structure. The author argues that in the new era, China should implement a dual-industrial integration development strategy to transform the dual-dualistic structure into a single-dualistic structure. To achieve this, China must continue to uphold reform and adopt policies and institutional arrangements for urban-rural integration.