China's political economy in modern times : changes and economic consequences, 1800-2000 / Kent Deng.

Includes bibliographical references (pages [244]-285) and index.

Part One 1. Changes in Modern China and Their Causes 2. The Qing State and Its Success 3. The Withering State and Its Consequences 4. Empire-wide Unrest and Failures in State-Building, 1850{u2013}70 5. Sate Revitalisation and Federalism, 1850{u2013}1911 6. Musical Chairs: More State-Builders in the Twentieth Century Part Two 7. Benchmarking Economic Performance, 1800{u2013}2000 8. Performance with the Private Economy, 1800{u2013}1936 9. Performance under Destruction, 1937{u2013}77 10. Fast Recovery, Growth, Development and the Future 11. Conclusion.

This book makes an important contribution to the study of changes in China{u2019}s institutions and their impact on the national economy as well as ordinary people{u2019}s daily material life from 1800 to 2000. Kent Deng reveals China{u2019}s mega-cycle of prosperity-poverty-prosperity without the usual attribution to the 1840 Opium War, or the alleged population pressure, class struggle and oriental despotism. The book challenges the conventional view on {u2018}rebellions{u2019}, {u2018}revolutions{u2019} and their alleged motivations and outcomes. Its findings separate commonly circulated myth with reality based on solid evidence and careful evaluation. The benchmark used by the author is people{u2019}s entitlement and mundane day-to-day material well being, instead of the stereotype of aggregates of industrial hardware and national GDP. China{u2019}s Political economy in Modern Times proves that state-building was the prime mover in China{u2019}s modern history. Contrary to the popular belief in mass movement, Deng shows convincingly that changes were in most cases imposed by a minority with external help. Therefore, the quality of the state was unpredictable, seen from the anti-state that cost lives and economic growth. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of Chinese Politics, Chinese Economics, Chinese History, and Political Economy.