A Study of Chinese Economic Reform Form 1979-1988

Author

Bo Zhang, Fontbonne College

Year of Award

1994

Degree

Master of Business Administration (MBA)

College

College of Business & Professional Studies

Degree Program

Business Administration

Department

Business Administration

Keywords

party, reforms, labor, agriculture, manufacturing

Abstract

Between 1979-1988, the People's Republic of China has been enmeshed in an extraordinary program of economic and political reform. The scope and pace of reform have exceeded what most observers, Chinese and foreign alike, believed possible, when Mao Zedong died in 1976. Deng Xiaoping's description of China's post-Mao reform program, as the "second revolution" conducted by the Chinese Communist Party, has proved accurate and appropriate. Since then, the reform coalition has followed a strategy of starting with programs that were likely to produce dramatic increases in production and standards of living, delaying measures that would have the most disruptive impact on the economy, and launching reforms on a nationwide scale, only after they have proven successful in local experiment. China's reform focus on the domestic economic system, foreign economic relationships, political structure, and principal institutions. However the successes reform has enjoyed should not obscure the obstacles it has encountered. The relaxation of administrative controls over the economy, especially in the absence of strict financial discipline or an effective legal system, has produced chronic budget deficits, corruption, unprofitable investments, and shortages of foreign exchange. The growing use of market forces has aroused uncertainties about inflation, unemployment, and inequality. This thesis will examine how things were in China before reforms began, and what changes have occurred to reach the state of affairs that exists today. The emphasis of this thesis study is to analyze the Chinese reform program: its origins, contents, implications and prospects.

Comments

Title transcribed from title page.

Document Type

Restricted Thesis

Recommended Citation

Zhang, Bo, "A Study of Chinese Economic Reform Form 1979-1988" (1994). All Theses, Dissertations, and Capstone Projects. 221.
https://griffinshare.fontbonne.edu/all-etds/221