Suchergebnisse

The overall goal of this paper is to analyse the political economy of food price policies in China during the global food crisis. The results show that given China's unique economic and political context and the nature of its agricultural markets, the government's reaction to the crisis was swift and decisive. Responses, which considered the interests of the relevant stakeholders, included both short-term counter-measures that covered a wide range of domestic and border policies as well as long-term policy changes on biofuels and agricultural investment. This, in conjunction with the country's political system, meant that the decision-making process encountered no problems and that the impacts of policy responses by the government achieved the envisaged objectives.

This paper focuses on the flow of fiscal and financial resources in China's rural economy during the first two decades of reform. Specifically, we seek to quantify the nature and direction of the capital flows between agriculture and the nonagricultural sectors and between the rural and non-rural sectors. We track identify the flows of three main sources of capital; fiscal flows, financial shifts through the formal banking system, and the implicit taxes that are moving through the grain system due to payment of in-kind (e.g., delivery quotas by farmers). Through this analysis, we provide policy makers with a set of measures that show that although in recent years the agriculture-to-industry and rural-to-urban flows have appeared to reverse themselves, as late as 2000 it does not appear as if the government is not directing enough resources into the rural economy; greater flows, however, are needed if rural China is to modernize. (Dev Econ/GIGA)

This article examines the impacts of China's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) on prices in its agricultural sector. The analysis uses a new methodology to estimate nominal protection rates in China's agricultural sector before its accession to the WTO. These new measures account for differences in commodity quality within China and between China and world markets. The analysis shows that some of China's agricultural commodities are well above world market prices and others are well below. The article also assesses market integration and efficiency in China. It finds high degrees of integration between coastal and inland markets and between regional and village markets. The remarkable improvements in market performance in recent years mean that if increased imports or exports affect China's domestic price near the border, producers throughout most of China will feel the price shifts.