The Growth of Market Relations in Post-Reform Rural China

This book, based on in-depth field research at the local level, assesses the different factors that are contributing to the transition to a market economy and the growth of networks in rural China. It analyses the different socio-economic actors - peasant households, out-migrants, family businesses and peasant entrepreneurs, uses the key concept of markets as a nexus of social networks, and identifies three different kinds of 'social capital' - human capital, political capital/status, and network capital.
This book demonstrates the importance of socio-political networks and highlights significant regional differences.

1. Introduction 2. Network Capital, Political Capital, and Bazaar Economy in Rural Yunnan: Family Business Survey in a Periodic Market 3. TVE Reform and the Patron-Client Networks between Peasant Entrepreneurs and the Local Government: Sunan vs. Wenzhou Model Reconsidered 4. Migration, the Job Search, and the Social Networks: Three Surveys on Rural-Urban Migration 5. How Does Local Government Try to Mobilize the Social Networks?: Micro Political Economy of Microfinance in Rural Yunnan 6. Income Generation and Access to Economic Opportunities: A Comparative Village Analysis 7. The Continuity and Vitality of Small Peasant Households: A Case Study of Household Bahaviour under the Commune System 8. Concluding Remarks: Marketization and Networks in Postreform Rural China