Democracy, Good Governance and Economic Development in Rural China

Abstract

Within a decade of the decollectivisation of rural China (1978-83) and the enormous economic boom that decollectivisation generated, rural China began to ran on hard times. Particularly after the urban reforms of 1984 and rapid urban economic growth in the mid- to late- 1980s, rural China's economic conditions deteriorated. The price scissors between urban and rural goods, which had narrowed in 1978-83, expanded significantly. As many as 20 per cent of rural villages lacked any real political authority. In the 1990s, local taxes and fees, imposed by cash-strapped rural cadres. created political hostility and social conflict that threatens the Communist Party's grip on power in the countryside. As a result, the number of rural protests increased almost four-fold between 1993-99.