1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910457239703321

Autore

Donaldson John A. <1970->

Titolo

Small works [[electronic resource] ] : poverty and economic development in southwestern China / / John A. Donaldson

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Ithaca, : Cornell University Press, 2011

ISBN

0-8014-6278-9

0-8014-6277-0

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (237 p.)

Disciplina

339.4/6095134

Soggetti

Poverty - China - Yunnan Sheng

Poverty - China - Guizhou Sheng

Economic development - China - Yunnan Sheng

Economic development - China - Guizhou Sheng

Electronic books.

Yunnan Sheng (China) Economic conditions

Guizhou Sheng (China) Economic conditions

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Guizhou and Yunnan in comparison -- Why do similar areas adopt different developmental strategies? -- Roads : building connections to markets -- Migration : go east, young man (and woman) -- Tourism : joyous village life -- Coal mining : black gold -- Conclusion : the micro-oriented state, development, and poverty.

Sommario/riassunto

How can policymakers effectively reduce poverty? Most mainstream economists advocate promoting economic growth, on the grounds that it generally reduces poverty while bringing other economic benefits. However, this dominant hypothesis offers few alternatives for economies that are unable to grow, or in places where economic growth fails to reduce or actually exacerbates poverty. In Small Works, John A. Donaldson draws on his extensive fieldwork in two Chinese provinces-Yunnan and Guizhou-that are exceptions to the purported relationship between economic growth and poverty reduction. In Yunnan, an outward-oriented developmental state, one that focuses on large-scale, urban development, has largely failed to reduce poverty,



even though it succeeded in stimulating economic growth. Provincial policy shaped roads, tourism, and mining in ways that often precluded participation by poor people. By contrast, Guizhou is a micro-oriented state, one that promotes small-scale, low-skill economic opportunities-and so reduces poverty despite slow economic growth. It is no coincidence that this Guizhou approach parallels the ideas encapsulated in the "scientific development view" of China's current president Hu Jintao. After all, Hu, when Guizhou's leader, helped establish the micro-oriented state in the province. Donaldson's conclusions have implications for our understanding of development and poverty reduction, economic change in China, and the thinking behind China's policy decisions.