Chinese farmer income’s fluctuant trajectory in the 1970s

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine the farmers’ income and to analyze the factors affecting the farmers’ income as well as rural life during the People’s Commune period. Design/methodology/approach - The study’s data are drawn from unique account books of production team and a great deal of rural archives from the aspects of commune, production brigade and production team during the People’s Commune period. Findings - The fate of the people’s commune is closely related to the income of its members. This study tries to explore the answers to “what determines members’ income” and “what influences their income,” which include the impact of the materialization on farmers’ income, the gender structure of the household labor force, the life cycle of the family and the population and so on. The main reason for farmers’ income differentiation is the difference in the demographic structure of the farmers, while the social system and traditional culture strengthen the role of this factor. Originality/value - The biggest feature of the study is that it deeply explored the unique account books of production team from a micro-view, and studied the issue of People’s Commune from the level of farmers using the methods of historical textual research and mathematical analysis. This study is a supplement of the research on the family level which has long been lacked in the academic community.