Structural Change and Development in Chinese Agriculture Tong-Eng Wang Iowa State University
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Retrospective Theses and Dissertations Dissertations 1966 Structural change and development in Chinese agriculture Tong-eng Wang Iowa State University Follow this and additional works at: https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/rtd Part of the Agricultural and Resource Economics Commons, and the Agricultural Economics Commons Recommended Citation Wang, Tong-eng, "Structural change and development in Chinese agriculture" (1966). Retrospective Theses and Dissertations. 5344. https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/rtd/5344 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Dissertations at Iowa State University Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Retrospective Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Iowa State University Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. This dissertation has been microfihned exactly as received 67-2102 WANG, Tong-eng, 1933- STRUCTURAL CHANGE AND DEVELOPMENT IN CHINESE AGRICULTURE. Iowa State University of Science and Technology, Ph.D„ 1966 Economics, agricultural University Microfilms, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan STRUCTURAL CHANGE AND DEVELOPMENT IN CHINESE AGRICULTURE by Tong-eng Wang A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty in Partial Fulfillment of The Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OP PHILOSOPHY Major Subject: Agricultural Economics Approved Signature was redacted for privacy. In C^rge of Major Work Signature was redacted for privacy. Head, of Major DejJkrtment Signature was redacted for privacy. Iowa State University Of Science and Technology Ames, Iowa 1966 ii TABLE OP CONTENTS Page I. INTRODUCTION 1 A. Problems and Purposes of the Study 1 B. Methods Used in the Study 3 C. General Framework of the Thesis 6 II. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY 8 A. Institutional Change and Agricultural Development 8 B. The Chinese Model 12 C. Implications of Agricultural Failure and Population Pressure 21 III. SYNOPSIS OP NATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS PRIOR TO THE COMMUNIST TAKEOVER 26 A. Economic 26 B. Technological and Natural Resources 30 C. Social and Cultural 30 D. Political 3I IV. LAND REDISTRIBUTION, 1949-1952 33 A. Purpose and Raison d'etre 33 B. The Law and Its Implementation 4-0 C. Effects and Defects 46 V. MUTUAL-AID TEAMS, 1950-1954 52 A. The Case for Mutual-Aid Teams 52 B. Forms and Characteristics 55 C. Development and Defects 56 VI. ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURAL PRODUCERS* COOPERATIVES', 1953-1956 6l A. Characteristics and Advantages 6l ill Page B. Development of the Elementary APG 6? 0. Effects and Shortcomings of Cooperatlvization 68 VII. ADVANCED AGRICULTURAL PRODUCERS' COOPERATIVES, 1956-1957 78 A. Characteristics 78 B. Development of Advanced APC 83 C. Economic Advantages 85 D. Defects and Contradictions 105 VIII. CHARACTERISTICS OP RURAL COMMUNES IN THE EARLY STAGE ' 122 A. Defining Two Stages of the Commune System 123 B. Organization and Function 125 C. Ownership I34. D. Distribution I39 E. Relations with the State 148 IX. EVOLUTION AND DEVELOPMENT OP THE COMMUNE 155 A. Great Leap Forward 157 B« General Line for Socialist Construction I63 C. Advent and Development of the Rural Commune I7 if X. ADVANTAGES AND DEFECTS OP THE COMMUNIZATION 182 A* Advantages 182 B. Defects of the Communization 233 XI. ADJUSTMENTS OF POLICIES AND THE COMMUNE SYSTEM IN ITS SECOND PHASE 275 A. Moderation of Policies and Targets 275 iv Page B. De-emphasis of the General Line 277 C, Changes in the Commune System 282 XII. ECONOMIC CONDITIONS, 1958 AND YEARS FOLLOWING 292 A. Great Leap in 1958-1959 " 292 B. Three Bad Years 298 C. Economic Recovery Since Late 1962 305 XIII. ANALYSIS OF THREE FUNDAMENTAL ASPECTS OF THE COMMUNIZATION 308 A. Non-diminishing Rate of Economic Growth 308 B. High Elasticity of Factor Substitution and "Walking on Two Legs" 315 C. Institutional Change and ' " Agricultural Development 324 XIV. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 338 XV. LITERATURE CITED 3^2 XVI. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 368 XVII. APPENDIX 369 1 I. INTRODUCTION A. Problems and Purposes of the Study- Advancement of transportation facilities has drawn closer the physical distance of human beings. Their spiritual separation is nevertheless great. As governments and/or vested interests oa both sides of the "iron curtain* practice in various degrees control and manipulation of information (cf. 17, PP. 34-41; 387, pp. 3-12 and 117-118), a majority of people are living in ignorance, suspicion, prejudice and fear. According to the results of a national survey conducted by the University of Michigan Survey Research Center in May and June, 1964, 28^ of American people are not aware that the Chinese mainland is ruled by a communist government (445, p. 5). Of those who know that the Chinese mainland is controlled by a communist govern ment only 60^ know of the existence of the Nationalist government (445, pp. 10-11). Fewer know the characteristics of each government. The lack of international understanding in other countries is perhaps worse. The U.S. government and private institutes have sponsored studies on various aspects of Communist China. However there is a lack of serious study of one of its most important aspects: development and economic significance of rural reorganization. In this study, reorganization in rural China includes the processes of land redistribution. 2 mutual aid movement, oooperativization, collectivization, and communization. They have had profound and extensive impacts on China proper as well as on the whole world, which will be elaborated in the next chapter. A historian may remark that the study of history will lose a lot if the Chinese history is ignored. Similarly, it can be contended that the science of economic development will suffer if the experiences of Communist Chinese in developing their agriculture and modernizing rural areas are not adequately studied and evaluated. This study attempts to fill this gap. First, it hopes to provide "factual" information about institutional changes undergone in rural China. Secondly, it describes the characteristics of various institutions and investi gates the underlying reasons for their development and decline. Thirdly, it reconstructs the process of the communization and furnishes economic interpretation of the rural people's communes and the "great leap forward" and "walking on two legs" movements in terms of concepts used by the western economists. Finally, it seeks to shed light on the process of agricultural development in other countries by analyzing the effects of institutional change on farm output and rural modernization in China. The study focuses on the development and economic significance of the rural people's communes. Are the rural communes and related economic policies rational in the 3 economic sense? Is the communization the dominant factor responsible for abrupt increase of farm output in its early phase and sharp decline during the period from late 1959 to early 1962? Be Methods Used in the Study The aforementioned objectives cannot be achieved by a single approach. The analytical methods used in this study are therefore historical, quantitative and theoretical. The historical approach is necessary to see the origin of ideas said perspective of social movements and thus to grasp their significance. Theoretical inference and elaboration is made on the basis of available information and documents concerning rural reorganization. However, the collection and arrangement of these materials in a systematic and intelli gible way needs the guidance of a theoretical framework constructed by development scientists. For example, the "end-means" relation betweeen the "great leap forward" and the commune system is the main criterion used in this study to establish two phases of the commune development. In the era of the "Cold War" conclusions on China's rural reorganization have profound implications. Students on the communist systems and policies certainly vary widely in their opinions. The present writer does not presume expertise in this field. So many things have interacted to influence the thinking of the writer that a strictly objective study of 4 this subject is difficult to achieve. However the writer has tried to avoid dogmatic statements, capitalist, socialist or others. In reading this thesis, the reader is urged to put aside his preconceptions. Technically, there is a paucity of accurate and system atic statistics on institutional changes, and agricultural production, due to a poor statistical staff and administra tion in rural areas, changes in the coverage of statistical reporting, and control and manipulation of data (151; 153; 154; l6l; 446), The quality of statistics deteriorated in 1958 when rural statistical services were under the control of the party and local cadres resorted to statistical inflation to demonstrate a "great leap" in production (153» pp. 91-97 and 111-121), The Director of the State Statistical Bureau stated explicitly in 1959: "Statistical work should take as its major task the reporting of achievements and triumphs." (153, p. 121). However, it must be noted that the quality of Communist China's agricultural statistics during 1950-1957 was perhaps comparable to that in other underdeveloped countries. Still, it is not unique in Communist China to witness the prevalence of "statisticulatlon" and "growthmanship," which means manipulation of data to show that countries with economic systems they favor have a high rate of economic growth and that unfriendly nations have a poor or less impressive growth (131; 67, pp. 12-13), 5 All these difficulties should not discourage responsible scientists from attempting serious investigation. Efforts are thus made in this study to collect and piece together the communist official materials which are relevant to the subject. When there are several versions of official data on the same matter, the final figures are used. Hopefully, this patching work will throw light on the background against which the communist regime has formulated and executed its series of drastic rural programs and the consequences thereof. This approach might lead the writer, no matter how cautious he is, to wrong inferences.