In Praise of the Maoist Economic Planning: Living Standards and Economic Development in Sichuan since 1931 (Studies on Contemporary China)

399 Pages·1993·13.04 MB·English

by  Chris Bramall

In Praise of
Maoist Economic
Planning
Living Standards and Economic
Developme~t in Sichuan since 1931.
CHRIS BRAMALL
CLARENDON PRESS· OXFORD
1993
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I" Praise of Maoisl EcoJ/omic PlmmillG
Chris Bromo//.
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Preface
This book is an evaluation of economic development in China's most
populous province between the Nanjing decade (1928-37) and the
'liberalization' programme initiated in 1978. Much of it discusses
the changing distribution of incomes and capabilities between loca-
tions within Sichuan. The famine that followed the Great Le,lp
Forward is also discussed in some detail. Although mllch of this is
necessarily descriptive, the book's main aim is to analyse and to
explain the achievements and the failures of the Maoist regime. Its
conclusions are much more positive than has been the norm in
recent years.
In writing it, I am greatly indebted to 130b Ash, Terry Byres. Liu
Minquan, and lain Macpherson for their trenchant critical comments
and their encouragement. I have also benefited from the sugges-
tions and advice of Alan Hughes, Wing-shing Tang. the late Ken
Walker, and Zhang Xunhai, as well the participants in the Third
World Economic History and Development Group's London Con-
ference (September 1988) and the Cambridge Research Group on the
Chinese Economy. An anonymous referee also helped to make this a
far better book than it would otherwise have been. lowe a special
debt to Peter Nolan. His influence has been immeasurable and his
enthusiasm infectious. I cannot imagine how this work would have
been conceived, let alone completed, without him.
I should also like to thank the Contemporary China Institute for its
kindness in publishing an earlier paper of mine on Sichuan; Charles
D'Orban of the Library of the School of Oriental and African Studies
for keeping me abreast of the flood of recent publications on the
province; the Economic and Social Research Council for financial
assistance during the early stages of this work; the British Council for
funding a year in China; the Master and Fellows of Sidney Sussex
College in the University of Cambridge for a Research Fellowship
that enabled much of my research to be carried out; and the Economic
Research Institute, Chengdu, for its hospitality during a research visit
to Sichuan. Finally, I am indebted to Sarah Barrett for her superb
copy-editing, and to members of the editorial department at Oxford
University Press for their meticulous care in readying the book for
publication.
viii Preface
This book is in no sense the last word on economic development in
Sichuan. It is scarcely the beginning of the beginning. Accordingly,
the responsibility for any errors and misinterpretations lies even more
heavily than usual upon the shoulders of the author. I accept it
entirely.
C.M.B.
Cambridge
August 1992
Contents
Romanization x
Abbreviations xi
Administrative Divisions xii
Weights and Measures xiii
List of Tables xiv
List of Figures xviii
I. Maoist Economic Development, Its Critics, and Sichuan 1
2. Sichuan's Development Record 27
3. The Roots of Backwardness 55
4. The Theory and Measurement of Income Distribution 115
5. The Spatial Distribution 139
6. An Analysis of Spatial Trends 175
7. Poverty and Inequality in Sichuan's Villages in the 1930s 215
8. Poverty and Inequality in Sichuan's Villages in the 1970s 259
9. Famine 281
10. Food Availability Decline and Institutional Change 305
II. Conclusion 335
Appendix 341
References: 357
Chinese-language Sources 357
Western-language Sources 365
Index 3RI
Romanization
The romanization used in this book is in general the pinyin form.
However, some pinyin versions, e.g. Xizang for Tibet, are neither
well known nor easily recognized, and therefore the traditional form
is used instead. Chinese names are cited Chinese-style, with the family
1ltt(l,Jc first. Some of the proper names frequently encountered are as
follows:
Pinyin form Traditional Western This book
form
Beijing Peking Beijing
Chengdu Chengtu Chengdu
Chongqing Chungking Chongqing
gaoliang kaoliang (sorghum) gaoliang
Guomindang Kuomintang Kuomintang
Jiang Jieshi Chiang Kaishek Chiang Kaishek
Mao Zedong Mao Tsetung Mao Zedong
Nanjing Nanking Nanjing
Qing Ch'ing Qing
tong oil tung oil tung oil
Sichuan Szechwan Sichuan
Xizang Tibet Tibet
Yangzi = Changjiang Yangtze Yangzi
Abbreviations
CBR crude birth rate
CCP Chinese Communist Party
CDR crude death rate
'Grain' includes pulses and tubers unless otherwise
stated
KMT Kuomintang
n.a. not available
NARB National Agricultural Research Bureau
NDMP net domestic material product or national
income (guomin shouru)
neg. negligible
NV AIO (GVA IO) sum of NVAO and NVIO (or GVAO and
GVIO)
NVAO (GVAO) net (gross) value of agricultural output
NVIO (GVIO) net (gross) value of industrial output
Administrative Divisions
Chinese administrative divisions have no true Western equivalents.
However, the use of pinyin in this context would make much of this
book unreadable to a non-specialist without constant reference to the
glossary. I have therefore used the standard Western equivalents, of
which the most common are summarized below. Less common terms
are explained when used. Prefecture and autonomous prefecture
names are identified in the Appendix; italicized county names denote
the name of the prefecture.
This book Pinyin form
autonomous county zizhixian
autonomous prefecture zizhizhou
autonomous region zizhiqu
city shi
commune gongshe
county xian
district qu
prefecture diqu
production brigade dadui
production team dui
province sheng
township xiang
village cun
Weights and Measures
I should have liked to have avoided the use of Chinese weights and
measures. However, some pre-1949 Chinese units are of uncertain
size and, in any case, the conversion of units increases the possibility
of error. Accordingly, I have use the pinyin equivalent throughout.
Where the prefix shi is used in the context of the 1930s, it refers to a
market, or standard, unit used throughout China. This prefix is very
rarely applied to post-1949 measures. If no prefix is used. pre-1949
units are local measures and their metric size is given wherever I have
been able to identify it. All post-1949 measures are standard. all-
China measures.
The Western equivalent of common post-1949 Chinese measures.
and pre-1949 standard measures, arc given below. Others arc given in
the text.
Pre-1949 pinyin Post-1949 pinyin Western equivalent
shi shi 'market' prefix
shish; shi 100litres
shi dan dan 50 kilograms
shimu mu 0.0667 hectares
shi jin jin 0.5 kilograms
yuan yuan 1 Chinese dollar
List of Tables
1.1. Sichuan's Relative Backwardness in the 1950s 12
1.2. International Population Densities in 1984 16
1.3. Rural Modernization in Sichuan since 1978 24
1.4. Output of Selected Producer Goods in Sichuan,
1931-1943 25
2.1. Macroeconomic Trends in Sichuan, 1931-1978 29
2.2. Macroeconomic Performance of Sichuan and China 31
2.3. Trends in Daily Food Consumption in Sichuan after
1931 34
2.4. International Expenditure and Savings Patterns 36
2.5. Anthropometric Data 40
2.6. Height of Boys Aged Seven in Urban China, 1979 41
2.7. Industrial Output Growth in Sichuan after 1952 43
2.8. Industrialization Levels in China and Sichuan, late
1970s 44
2.9. Trends in Consumption after 1952 in Sichuan 47
2.10. Sichuan's Trade Balance, 1952-1978 48
2.11. Trends in Capabilities in Sichuan 50
2.12. Infant Mortality Rates in Developing Countries 52
3.1. The Economy of Sichuan in Peace and War,
1931-1945 74
3.2. Sichuan's Economy in the 1950s and the Late Maoist
Period 79
3.3. Farm-Sector Performance in the 1950s 84
3.4. Fixed Investment in Sichuan after 1965 100
3.5. Trends in Living Standards in Sichuan, 1975-1990 104
3.6. Growth of Farm Output and Inputs in Sichuan,
1978-1987 106
3.7. Fixed Investment in Transport and Communications
in Sichuan 110
5:1. NVAIO and Net Peasant Incomes by County, 1985 146
5.2. Pork Consumption and NV AIO by Prefecture, 1980s 147