The book provides a unique examination of the relationship between the state and market in China's economic development over several centuries. Its analysis is situated in the wider context of debates about technical progress in the pre-modern world, about the impact of western imperialism, about the role of the state in the economic development of poor countries and in the transition of former communist countries away from Stalinist systems of political economy.

Peter Nolan

Preface - Introduction: Controversial Issues in China's Economic Development - Politics, Population and Economic Change: Reflections on the Causes of Slow Technical Progress in the Chinese Economy of the Early/Mid Qing - China and the World Economy, 1840s-1940s - Assessing Economic Growth in the Asian NICs - Death Rates, Life Expectancy and China's Economic Reforms: A Critique of A.K.Sen (with John Sender) - Why do Famines Occur and How can They be Avoided? A Critique of A.K.Sen with Special Reference to China - Reforming Stalinist Systems: The Chinese Experience - Conclusion - Index