With the ascendancy of Deng Xiaoping in 1978, China began a program of agricultural reform intended to increase productivity. This detailed study examines what the author sees as the major changes which moved the sector from a centrally planned to a more market-oriented system--replacement of collective teams with household farming, an increase of free markets for rural products, an increased state price for agricultural products, and greater freedom to expand off-farm activities--changes in the economic structure which facilitated greater productivity. It is unique in its focus on a single...

In this clear and engaging book, economist Louis Putterman places the economy and the study of economics in a broad historical and social perspective. He explores the history of the discipline, the history of the modern economy, different perspectives on the market economy, and the relations between economic matters and questions of human nature, social aspiration, and justice. Putterman connects the field of economics with other important spheres of life, building bridges of understanding that are too often absent in the study of economics.

This book explains economic ideas in...

A new and unique collection of essays on the relationship between economic institutions and values, this book's original premise is that the way an economy and society are organized is determined in part by the preferences we call "values." This book challenges economists and scholars in related fields to explore the two-way interaction between economic arrangements and values. Contributors include leading scholars from such diverse fields as game theory and economic history, as well as political philosophy, sociology and psychology. Designed for a wide readership, the book has no existing...