Performance and mechanisms of the Maoist economy – a holistic approach, 1950-1980

Deng, Kent ORCID: 0000-0002-9795-3646, Shen, Jim Huangnan and Guo, Jingyuan (2024) Performance and mechanisms of the Maoist economy – a holistic approach, 1950-1980. Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, 67. 646 – 701. ISSN 0022-4995

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Abstract

This article probes performance and mechanisms of the Maoist economy from 1950 to 1980, a period commonly regarded as a turning point that ushered in a bumpy but new path for China’s new economic fortune, including industrialisation and modernisation. Mao and his government have often been regarded as a developer and moderniser for China. This study questions it. To that end, the Maoist economy is re-conceptualised, re-examined, and re-assessed with qualitative and quantitative evidence including empirical modelling. The key findings suggest that the Maoist economy was a closed one with industrial dependence on agriculture in an urban-rural zero-sum. In the end, despite the official propaganda agriculture declined, industrial workforce stagnated, and the population was poor. This gloomy performance justified the post-Mao reforms and opening up, a game changer that put China on a very different trajectory of growth and development.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	© 2024 The Authors
Divisions:	Economic History
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions
Date Deposited:	17 Jul 2024 11:09
Last Modified:	01 Jan 2025 04:09
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/124262

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