Chinese Agriculture in the 1930s (eBook)

Preface 6
Acknowledgments 10
Contents 12
List of Contributors 14
List of Figures 15
List of Tables 17
Chapter 1: China’s Agriculture in the 1930s: An Overview 21
1.1 Introduction 21
1.2 Land Utilization in China 23
1.3 Land and Labour in China 24
1.4 The Chinese Peasant Economy 26
1.5 Agricultural Involution 27
1.6 Equilibrium Traps 33
1.6.1 Low-Level Equilibrium Traps 34
1.7 High-Level Equilibrium Traps 39
1.8 The Malthusian Trap 42
1.9 Nutrition 43
1.10 Agricultural Credit 49
1.11 Summary 50
References 50
Chapter 2: John Lossing Buck and Land Utilization in China 53
2.1 Introduction 53
2.2 Nanhsuchow 55
2.3 Chinese Farm Economy 63
2.4 Land Utilization in China 65
2.5 Other Works by John L. Buck 69
2.6 After China 71
2.7 Summary 72
References 73
Chapter 3: Calamities and Conflict Affecting Rural China 1929–1933 75
3.1 Introduction 75
3.2 Calamities and Conflict Affecting Rural China 1929–1933 78
3.3 Flood, Drought, Pestilence, and Famine 81
3.4 Bandits, Warlords, Civil War, and Agricultural Conditions 87
3.5 Geopolitics and Agricultural Conditions 99
3.6 Summary 103
Chapter 4: The Discovery and Restoration of Buck’s Original Data 104
4.1 Introduction 104
4.2 Discovering Buck’s Data 105
4.3 Moving Forward 111
4.4 Main Work 117
4.4.1 Entering and Checking Data 117
4.5 Integrating Data 120
4.6 Identifying and Repairing Problematic Data 121
4.7 Values 121
4.8 Spelling 123
4.9 Chinese Dialects 123
4.10 Validating Household Data 124
4.11 Converting Local Units 126
4.12 Unit of Area 126
4.13 Unit of Yield 126
4.14 Unit of Distance 127
4.15 Unit of Currency 127
4.16 Summary 127
Appendix: Counties and County Codes 129
References 131
Chapter 5: Reliability of John Lossing Buck’s Land Utilization Survey Data: A Preliminary Test of Grain Yields 132
5.1 Introduction 132
5.2 Statistical Data of Chinese Agriculture, 1914–1949 134
5.3 Comparison of Yield Data 135
5.3.1 Selecting Samples regarding Crops and Time Periods 135
5.3.2 Consolidating Data for Comparison 135
5.3.3 Results of the Comparison 135
5.4 Summary 137
References 138
Chapter 6: Tenancy Issues in Northwest China During the Republican Era 139
6.1 Introduction 139
6.2 An Overview of Tenancy in Northwest China 141
6.3 Causes of Land Renting and Production Behaviors of Tenant Farmers in Northwest China 142
6.4 “Subsistence-Type” Tenant Farmers 144
6.5 Cropping Structure: “Improving Living Condition-Type” Tenant Farmers 145
6.6 Tenancy System in Northwest China 148
6.6.1 Production Responsibilities 150
6.6.2 Negotiation Ability 151
6.6.3 Risk-Resistance Capacity and Rent Sensitivity 152
6.6.4 Pressure of Subsistence and Crop Varieties 153
6.7 Conclusions 154
References 154
Chapter 7: Regional Differences in Surplus Agricultural Labor During China’s Republican Era, Based on Buck’s Rural Survey Data 156
7.1 Introduction 156
7.2 Methods for Estimation of Surplus Agricultural Labor 158
7.3 Data Sources and Research Methods 160
7.4 Estimation Results and Analysis 161
7.5 Animal-Labor Substitution and Irrigation 166
7.6 Conclusions 167
References 168
Chapter 8: Agricultural Poverty and Inequality in 1930s China: Estimates of Gini and Engel Coefficients from Buck’s Data 170
8.1 Introduction 170
8.2 Research Methodology and Data Processing 173
8.2.1 The Gini Coefficient 173
8.2.2 Data Sources and Processing 176
8.3 China’s Agricultural Hired Labor Income Level and Inequality in the 1930s: A Gini Coefficient Perspective 177
8.4 Agricultural Hired Labor Income Distribution over the 1930s: A Perspective of Kernel Density Distribution 182
8.5 Summary 184
References 185
Chapter 9: An Analysis on the Inverse Relationship between Yield and Farm Size in Rural China in the 1930s 187
9.1 Introduction 187
9.2 Cropping Patterns in the Republican Era 188
9.3 Examination of Inverse Relationship between Land Productivity and Cultivated Area 189
9.3.1 Characteristics of Cropping Patterns of Surveyed Counties 189
9.4 Controversy around the Relationship between Farm Size and Crop Yield 195
9.5 Empirical Tests for an Inverse Relationship 197
9.6 Summary and Conclusions 204
References 207
Chapter 10: The Relationship Between Farm Size and Land Productivity in Early Twentieth-Century China 208
10.1 Introduction 208
10.2 Farm Size and Land Productivity in China 210
10.3 Relationship between Farm Size and Land Productivity 212
10.4 Productivity of Different-Sized Farms 212
10.5 Scale Elasticity of Agricultural Production in Different Areas 214
10.6 Elasticities on the Labor/Land Ratio 219
10.7 Representative Isoquants 221
10.8 Possible Explanations for Differences in Production Efficiency 223
10.8.1 The “Advantage of Small Farms” and Different Household Behavior 223
10.8.2 Different MCI 224
10.8.3 Differences in Fertilizer Input 225
10.8.4 Different Planting Structures 226
10.8.5 Different Animal Labor Input 227
10.8.6 “Advantages of Small Farms” and Labor Markets 229
10.9 Conclusion 232
Appendix: Detailed Production Coefficients 233
References 238
Chapter 11: Farm Credit Demand and Supply in 1930s China 240
11.1 Introduction 240
11.2 Summary of Buck’s Rediscovered Data Used in Demand Analysis 241
11.3 Amount and Character of Farm Credit 244
11.4 Sources of Farm Credit 246
11.5 Uses of Credit and Special Expenditures 247
11.6 Livestock 248
11.7 Size of Farm Business 249
11.8 Agricultural Productivity 249
11.9 Yield Risk 250
11.10 Hired Labor and Subsidiary Labor 251
11.11 Time and Regional Variables 251
11.12 Estimation Method 254
11.13 Econometric Results: Who is Borrowing? 257
11.14 Econometric Results: The Demand and Supply of Agricultural Credit 260
11.15 Econometric Results: The Demand and Supply of Non-Productive or Consumption Credit 263
11.16 Results Analysis: Production Loan for Indebted Farmers with Time and Region Variables 267
11.17 Discussion on Credit Demand and Supply 270
References 271
Chapter 12: The Change in China’s Cropland Utilization and Productivity Over Nearly a Century in China: A Comparison Study Based on Buck’s Survey 273
12.1 Introduction 273
12.2 Selection of Related Indexes and Areas for Comparison. 274
12.3 Comparison of the Degree of Land Utilization 275
12.3.1 Change in Per Household Cropland Area 275
12.3.2 Change in Land Fragmentation per Household 276
12.3.3 Changes in Cropping Structure 278
12.3.4 Changes in MCI 280
12.3.5 Change in Intensity of Cropland Utilization 281
12.4 Comparison of Cropland Productivity 283
12.4.1 Change in Cropland Productivity 283
12.4.2 Change in Agricultural Labor Productivity 283
12.5 Conclusion 285
References 286
Chapter 13: A Comparison of Certain Changes in Chinese Agricultural Operations between Buck’s Republican Era and Modern China 287
13.1 Introduction 287
13.2 Change in Input of Agricultural Production Factors 288
13.2.1 Change in Input of Agricultural Labor 288
13.2.2 Change in Agricultural Laborers’ Educational Levels 290
13.3 Change in Input of Cropland by Farm Household 290
13.4 Change in Agricultural Capital Input 292
13.5 Change in Agricultural Operation 293
13.5.1 Change in Cropping Structure 293
13.6 Change in Agricultural Productivity Level 295
13.6.1 Comparison of Labor Productivity 295
13.6.2 Comparison of Land Productivity 295
13.7 Change in Commodity Rate of Agricultural Products 296
13.8 Change in Farm Household Incomes 298
13.8.1 Comparison of Farm Household Income Sources 298
13.9 Farm Households’ Part-Time Non-Farm Work 300
13.10 Summary 302
Chapter 14: Concluding Thoughts 305
14.1 Introduction 305
14.2 Representativeness of Buck’s Data 306
14.3 Summary of Findings 308
14.4 Final Thoughts 312
14.4.1 Modern-Day Comparisons 314
References 315
Index 316