Introduction to the Economic Research on China's Ethnic Minorities

Author: Long Yuwei
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-03-01
Features: This book reviews the rise of ethnic minority economic research in China and the process of disciplinary theoretical discussions, while also exploring the issues encountered in research practice. We believe that ethnic economic research is largely relative to the nation, with its primary subject being the "ethnic group" as a special community. Since the concept of "ethnic group" has at least two levels—namely, the "ethnic group" at the state level (state-nation) and the specific ethnic groups within the nation—ethnic economics also encompasses at least two levels: "ethnic economics at the state level" and "ethnic economics embodied by the ethnic groups within the nation." It goes without saying that the concepts frequently used in academia, such as "ethnic economics," "ethnic minority economics," "ethnic minority economics in China," and "ethnic regional economics," actually point to different directions: "ethnic economics relative to the nation," the habitual usage of "ethnic minority economics" in multi-ethnic countries, which has added much inclusivity, but in academic terms, these concepts should be clearly defined. Clearly, in ethnic economic research, ethnic minority economics in China is only a part of it. This book takes the interrelationship between ethnic minority economics and ethnic regional economics, as well as the logical trajectory of their changes, as its main thread, exploring different levels and internal connections of ethnic minority economics in China from micro to macro. Due to the historical process of human social development since the formation of ethnic groups, the family has always been the basic organizational form of various social systems. Therefore, we start with the family as this fundamental social organizational form and gradually expand our discussion, exploring the characteristics and interconnections of ethnic minority culture and economic behavior, family structure and labor organization, economic behavior, rural and pastoral economies at the micro level. At the county-level economy level, we examine the internal operational characteristics of county-level economies, the separation between ethnic minority economics and county-level economies, and further explore the urbanization process and the ethnic characteristics of urban economies. In China, the academic concept of "ethnic regional economics" is essentially a short form of "ethnic autonomous regional economics," rather than a "ethnic minority inhabited area economy" with natural connotations. Therefore, the concept of "ethnic regional economics" has certain economic implications and is a specific type of regional economy. Based on this understanding, we explore the main aspects of ethnic regional economic development from a macro perspective, including the economic structure, economic growth model, knowledge economy, and sustainable development of ethnic regions. From "small" to "large," from micro to macro, we attempt to explore the theoretical framework of ethnic minority economic research in China from a new perspective.