Transformation of China's Rural Economy and Disorganization of People's Commune in the 1970s

2021 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 18K12821
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 07070:Economic history-related
• Research Institution: Hokkaido University
• Principal Investigator: MATSUMURA Shiho 北海道大学, 経済学研究院, 准教授 (50615953)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-04-01 – 2022-03-31
• Keywords: 人民公社 / 戸別請負制 / 毛沢東時代 / 改革開放 / 農村工業 / 中国版「緑の革命」

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This research subject considers why the People's Commune, which was the basis of collective management in rural areas, was dismantled. This research compares both the rural areas where voluntarily worked on the dismantling of the People's Commune and the rural areas where wanted the People's Commune to continue, and investigate what was the difference between the two. Through this research project, it became clear that (1) the change in agricultural production conditions, which can be said to be the arrival of the "Green Revolution", occurred in China in the 1970s, and (2) some rural areas increased production and sales of both agriculture and industry, (3) but many rural areas were left out of change, which brought widening economic disparities. It was revealed that the rural area of (2) was reluctant to dismantle the People's Commune, while the rural area of (3) was positive.

Free Research Field

中国現代経済史

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究は、人民公社解体に対して積極的な地域と消極的な地域が存在する理由と背景の解明を目的にすすめられた。そして、地域の経済水準を左右する農村工業の成功・失敗が、人民公社解体に際しての態度の違いを生んでいることを明らかにした。同時に、農村工業が成功する地域と失敗する地域の分岐点はどこか、またなぜ1970年代初頭ごろより、全国各地において農村工業に取り組む地域が増えるのかを中心に、これまで研究の蓄積がなされてこなかった1970年代における中国農村経済を、多角的に分析した。