Rural development in China / by Dwight Perkins and Shahid Yusuf

When China began to discuss the possibility of joining the World Bank almost six years ago, the Bank knew little of the economy and institu tions of the People's Republic. Interest quickened as the Bank prepared to welcome the world's most populous nation into its midst, and thus we were asked to survey and synthesize the available information on rural development in China so that it would be accessible to the widest possible audience within the Bank.

Even as the first draft was taking shape, however, the Chinese gov ernment began to release detailed statistical information on agriculture. In one stroke it made obsolete the informed speculation on which had rested much of the existing analysis of how the rural sector had evolved, what its strengths were, and how severe its remaining problems were. We were encouraged to go beyond encapsulating past work and to make a fresh assessment of China's rural development strategy.

Much has been written on the various facets of Chinese rural develop ment, and, no doubt, one can expect a steady stream of publications to augment this already handsome stock in the years ahead. But the individual seeking a brief self-contained introduction, which threads together the diverse topics embraced by the field of rural development and which effectively uses newly released data to refine and extend the accumulated knowledge, is likely to suffer some frustration. The volume of literature on the subject is, at first brush, overwhelming, but for one seeking an informed and comprehensive introduction and with out the appetite to wade through a score of specialized treatises, the offerings are quite meagre. It is our hope that we have taken a modest step toward filling this gap and, at the same time, have written a book that even those familiar with the Chinese economy may find of use.

This study has evolved over several years, and we are grateful to all those who encouraged and guided us through the successive phases. Hollis Chenery has our special thanks. While at the World Bank, he the need for such a study, pointed us in the right direction, and encouraged us to attempt something appreciably more ambitious than a survey of the literature.