Economic growth and employment in China C.2

THE PRESENT DECADE has seen much soul-searching about employment policies in developing countries. Several aspects have been the subjects of intensive debate: appropriate technology, small-scale enterprise, rural industries, farm mechanization, and the employment and distributive aspects of small-scale farming and agrarian reform. In some instances the debate is of long standing. but it continues with as much intensity as before. Whatever the benefits of industrial exports for growth and employment may be in general, in the more populous developing countries the main market for industry is the domestic one, and it is likely to remain so for some time. Since, in addition, the labor force is preponderantly rural, agricultural development strategy has a critical bearing on the pattern, location, and pace of industrial development.

In writings on these matters, it is common to find some reference to China's experience. But despite the rapid growth of the literature, few studies have attempted to map out China's policies on employment and, in particular, to make a quantitative assessment of what most observers agree to have been con siderable achievements during the past two decades. The World Bank asked that such a study be undertaken; this book was commissioned to help the Bank in its understanding of urban and rural development, rural enterprise and non farm employment, and the development of small enterprise.

China's emphasis on labor-intensive methods of raising agricultural output, supported by its rural industries program, and the resulting effects on the re gional dispersion of industry provide valuable insight, both for countries that have not opted for this as one of the elements of an employment and growth policy and for others that have or are in the throes of doing so. As the author concludes, even if China's political, social, and economic system is radically different, there are many examples of how knowledge of its experience can en rich the understanding of those concerned with employment policy elsewhere. Thomas G. Rawski is associate professor of economics at the University of To ronto and a consultant to the World Bank