The Political Economy of the Chinese Coal Industry: Black Gold and Blood-Stained Coal

ISBN-13: 9780415493284 / Angielski / Twarda / 2011 / 272 str.

Tim Wright

Opis

Coal mining in China is a huge industry, and provides an excellent case study through which to consider the broader issues of China's transition from socialism to capitalism, focussing on the transition to a market economy, the rise of rural industry and the situation of China's working class. Coal was one of the pillars of the planned economy; its shift to market-based operations has been protracted and difficult, particularly in moving from the artificially low prices of the planned economy to market proscribed prices, as well as in determining financial performance where performance is affected by external factors and artificially set prices. It also considers the growth of small rural coal mines as part of the Township and Village Enterprises -- TVEs -- programme which has brought prosperity to areas where small manufacturing enterprises are not competitive, and where there exist social and environmental problems. The book examines the situation of miners: arguably one the most vulnerable of the Chinese working class under capitalism and under socialism. The book provides a comprehensive and coherent treatment of these issues from the establishment of the People's Republic up to 2010, and pays particular attention to the issue of work safety and coal mine disasters.

Spis treści

Part 1: The Chinese Coal Mining Industry  1. China’s Coal Industry: Growth and Development Over the Long Term  Part 2: Rents, Prices and Profits in Coal Mining  2. Rent Seeking and the Political Economy of Coal Prices  3. The Financial Performance of Coal Enterprises  Part 3: Coal Mining in China’s Rural Industrialization  4. The Rural Coal Mines and Their Owners: Social Costs and Benefits  5. The Central State and the Rural Mines  Part 4: The Fate of Coal Miners in China’s Changing Economy  6. Low Wages and Poor Job Security?  7. Coal Mine Safety: The Record  8. Coal Mine Safety: Political Determinants

O autorze

Tim Wright is Emeritus Professor of Chinese Studies, University of Sheffield, UK. He is author of Coal Mining in China’s Economy and Society, 1895-1937.