IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/fec/journl/v4y2009i4p633-648.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Chinese agricultural development in 30 years: A literature review

Author

Listed:
  • YU Xiaohua

    (Courant Research Center ¡°Poverty, Equity and Growth¡±, University of G?ttingen, Platz der G?ttinger Sieben3, G?ttingen 37073, Germany)

  • ZHAO Guoqing

    (Courant Research Center ¡°Poverty, Equity and Growth¡±, University of G?ttingen, Platz der G?ttinger Sieben3, G?ttingen 37073, Germany)

Abstract

This paper reviews the current literature on Chinese agricultural growth in the past three decades, and finds that fertilizers, price reforms, human capital growth, and demographic changes are the main factors for the continuous growth of agricultural outputs and farmer income. The costs for the growth include severe environmental pollutions and the incoming population aging which should be cured in order to achieve a sustainable growth.

Suggested Citation

  • YU Xiaohua & ZHAO Guoqing, 2009. "Chinese agricultural development in 30 years: A literature review," Frontiers of Economics in China-Selected Publications from Chinese Universities, Higher Education Press, vol. 4(4), pages 633-648, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:fec:journl:v:4:y:2009:i:4:p:633-648
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://journal.hep.com.cn/fec/EN/10.1007/s11459-009-0034-y
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Xiaobo Zhang & Shenggen Fan, 2001. "Estimating Crop-Specific Production Technologies in Chinese Agriculture: A Generalized Maximum Entropy Approach," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 83(2), pages 378-388.
    2. Mamingi, Nlandu, 1996. "How prices and macroeconomic policies affect agricultural supply and the environment," Policy Research Working Paper Series 1645, The World Bank.
    3. Zhao, Yaohui, 1999. "Labor Migration and Earnings Differences: The Case of Rural China," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 47(4), pages 767-782, July.
    4. T. Paul Schultz, 2003. "Human Resources in China: The Birth Quota, Returns to Schooling, and Migration," Working Papers 855, Economic Growth Center, Yale University.
    5. Bloom, David E & Williamson, Jeffrey G, 1998. "Demographic Transitions and Economic Miracles in Emerging Asia," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 12(3), pages 419-455, September.
    6. Songqing Jin & Jikun Huang & Ruifa Hu & Scott Rozelle, 2002. "The Creation and Spread of Technology and Total Factor Productivity in China's Agriculture," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 84(4), pages 916-930.
    7. repec:bla:pacecr:v:9:y:2004:i:3:p:245-267 is not listed on IDEAS
    8. Tao Yang, Dennis, 2004. "Education and allocative efficiency: household income growth during rural reforms in China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(1), pages 137-162, June.
    9. Mao, Weining & Koo, Won W., 1997. "Productivity growth, technological progress, and efficiency change in chinese agriculture after rural economic reforms: A DEA approach," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 8(2), pages 157-174.
    10. Wang, Jirong & Cramer, Gail L. & Wailes, Eric J., 1996. "Production efficiency of Chinese agriculture: evidence from rural household survey data," Agricultural Economics, Blackwell, vol. 15(1), pages 17-28, September.
    11. Shenggen Fan, 1991. "Effects of Technological Change and Institutional Reform on Production Growth in Chinese Agriculture," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 73(2), pages 266-275.
    12. Brummer, B. & Glauben, T. & Lu, W., 2006. "Policy reform and productivity change in Chinese agriculture: A distance function approach," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(1), pages 61-79, October.
    13. Gary S. Becker & Kevin M. Murphy & Robert Tamura, 1994. "Human Capital, Fertility, and Economic Growth," NBER Chapters, in: Human Capital: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis with Special Reference to Education, Third Edition, pages 323-350, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    14. Gary S. Becker & Tomas J. Philipson & Rodrigo R. Soares, 2005. "The Quantity and Quality of Life and the Evolution of World Inequality," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 95(1), pages 277-291, March.
    15. Jikun Huang & Scott Rozelle, 1995. "Environmental Stress and Grain Yields in China," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 77(4), pages 853-864.
    16. D. Gale Johnson, 2000. "Population, Food, and Knowledge," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 90(1), pages 1-14, March.
    17. Chen, Zhuo & Huffman, Wallace E. & Rozelle, Scott, 2009. "Farm technology and technical efficiency: Evidence from four regions in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 20(2), pages 153-161, June.
    18. Liu, Zinan & Zhuang, Juzhong, 2000. "Determinants of Technical Efficiency in Post-Collective Chinese Agriculture: Evidence from Farm-Level Data," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 545-564, September.
    19. Yaohui Zhao, 1997. "Labor Migration and Returns to Rural Education in China," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 79(4), pages 1278-1287.
    20. Byerlee, Derek R., 1987. "Maintaining the Momentum in Post-Green Revolution Agriculture: A Micro-Level Perspective from Asia," Food Security International Development Papers 54061, Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics.
    21. Jayne, Thomas S. & Mather, David & Mghenyi, Elliot W., 2006. "Smallholder Farming Under Increasingly Difficult Circumstances: Policy and Public Investment Priorities for Africa," Food Security International Development Policy Syntheses 54507, Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics.
    22. Byron, Rayond P & Manaloto, Evelyn Q, 1990. "Returns to Education in China," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 38(4), pages 783-796, July.
    23. Jirong Wang & Gail L. Cramer & Eric J. Wailes, 1996. "Production efficiency of Chinese agriculture: evidence from rural household survey data," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 15(1), pages 17-28, September.
    24. Fangbin Qiao & Bryan Lohmar & Jikun Huang & Scott Rozelle & Linxiu Zhang, 2003. "Producer Benefits from Input Market and Trade Liberalization: The Case of Fertilizer in China," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 85(5), pages 1223-1227.
    25. Xu, Yingfeng, 1999. "Agricultural productivity in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 10(2), pages 108-121.
    26. Gary S. Becker & H. Gregg Lewis, 1974. "Interaction between Quantity and Quality of Children," NBER Chapters, in: Economics of the Family: Marriage, Children, and Human Capital, pages 81-90, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    27. Justin Yifu Lin, 1987. "The Household Responsibility System Reform in China: A Peasant's Institutional Choice," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 69(2), pages 410-415.
    28. Huang, Jikun & Rozelle, Scott, 1996. "Technological change: Rediscovering the engine of productivity growth in China's rural economy," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(2), pages 337-369, May.
    29. Wiens, Thomas B, 1983. "Price Adjustment, the Responsibility System, and Agricultural Productivity," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 73(2), pages 319-324, May.
    30. Xu, Xiaosong & Jeffrey, Scott R., 1998. "Efficiency and technical progress in traditional and modern agriculture: evidence from rice production in China," Agricultural Economics, Blackwell, vol. 18(2), pages 157-165, March.
    31. Lin, Justin Yifu, 1992. "Rural Reforms and Agricultural Growth in China," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 82(1), pages 34-51, March.
    32. Wu, Shunxiang & Walker, David J. & Devadoss, Stephen, 1998. "Productivity Growth And Its Components In Chinese Agriculture After Reforms," A.E. Research Series 305156, University of Idaho, Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology.
    33. Xiaohua Yu & David Abler, 2009. "The Demand for Food Quality in Rural China," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 91(1), pages 57-69.
    34. Justin Yifu Lin, 2007. "Development and Transition : Idea, Strategy, and Viability," Development Economics Working Papers 22709, East Asian Bureau of Economic Research.
    35. Wu, Shunxiang & Walker, David J. & Devadoss, Stephen, 1998. "Productivity Growth And Its Components In Chinese Agriculture After Reforms," 1998 Annual meeting, August 2-5, Salt Lake City, UT 20817, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association).
    36. Xiaosong Xu & Scott R. Jeffrey, 1998. "Efficiency and technical progress in traditional and modern agriculture: evidence from rice production in China," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 18(2), pages 157-165, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Wang, Xiaobing & Yu, Xiaohua, 2011. "Scale Effects, Technical Efficiency and Land Lease in China," 2011 International Congress, August 30-September 2, 2011, Zurich, Switzerland 115736, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    2. Asian Development Bank (ADB), 2013. "Improving Agricultural Productivity and Rural Livelihoods: A Knowledge-Sharing Experience: Summary of the Proceedings of the 2011 People’s Republic of China–Asian Development Bank Knowledge Sharing Pl," ADB Reports RPT125229, Asian Development Bank (ADB), revised 05 Feb 2014.
    3. Yuan, Shen & Peng, Shaobing, 2017. "Trends in the economic return on energy use and energy use efficiency in China's crop production," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 836-844.
    4. Muhammad Rizwan & Ping Qing & Abdul Saboor & Muhammad Amjed Iqbal & Adnan Nazir, 2020. "Production Risk and Competency among Categorized Rice Peasants: Cross-Sectional Evidence from an Emerging Country," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-15, May.
    5. Yu, Xiaohua & Abler, David, 2016. "Matching food with mouths: A statistical explanation to the abnormal decline of per capita food consumption in rural China," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 36-43.
    6. Cai, Jinyang & Chen, Yiming & Hu, Ruifa & Wu, Mingyin & Shen, Zhiyang, 2022. "Discovering the impact of farmer field schools on the adoption of environmental-friendly technology," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).
    7. Zhang, Jian & Mishra, Ashok K. & Zhu, Peixin, 2023. "Land Markets and Labor Productivity: Empirical Evidence from China," IZA Discussion Papers 16575, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. Santangelo, Grazia D., 2018. "The impact of FDI in land in agriculture in developing countries on host country food security," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 53(1), pages 75-84.
    9. Ji, Yueqing & Yu, Xiaohua & Zhong, Funing, 2012. "Machinery investment decision and off-farm employment in rural China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(1), pages 71-80.
    10. Yameng Wang & Zhe Chen & Xiumei Wang & Mengyang Hou & Feng Wei, 2021. "Research on the Spatial Network Structure and Influencing Factors of the Allocation Efficiency of Agricultural Science and Technology Resources in China," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-23, November.
    11. Tan, Ying & Sha, Wenbiao & Paudel, Krishna, 2017. "The Impact of Monetary Policy on Agricultural Price Index in China: A FAVAR Approach," 2017 Annual Meeting, February 4-7, 2017, Mobile, Alabama 252676, Southern Agricultural Economics Association.
    12. Avraham Ebenstein & Jian Zhang & Margaret S. McMillan & Kevin Chen, 2011. "Chemical Fertilizer and Migration in China," NBER Working Papers 17245, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    13. Jian Zhang & Ashok K. Mishra & Peixin Zhu, 2021. "Land rental markets and labor productivity: Evidence from rural China," Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics/Revue canadienne d'agroeconomie, Canadian Agricultural Economics Society/Societe canadienne d'agroeconomie, vol. 69(1), pages 93-115, March.
    14. Zhang, Jian & Mishra, Ashok K. & Zhu, Peixin & Li, Xiaoshun, 2020. "Land rental market and agricultural labor productivity in rural China: A mediation analysis," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    15. Yu, Xiaohua, 2014. "Monetary easing policy and long-run food prices: Evidence from China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 175-183.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Chen, Zhuo & Huffman, Wallace E. & Rozelle, Scott, 2009. "Farm technology and technical efficiency: Evidence from four regions in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 20(2), pages 153-161, June.
    2. Chen, Po-Chi & Yu, Ming-Miin & Chang, Ching-Cheng & Hsu, Shih-Hsun, 2008. "Total factor productivity growth in China's agricultural sector," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 19(4), pages 580-593, December.
    3. Gong, Binlei, 2020. "Agricultural productivity convergence in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    4. Wang, Xiaobing & Yu, Xiaohua, 2011. "Scale Effects, Technical Efficiency and Land Lease in China," 2011 ASAE 7th International Conference, October 13-15, Hanoi, Vietnam 290658, Asian Society of Agricultural Economists (ASAE).
    5. Wen‐Ge Fu & Sizhong Sun & Zhang‐Yue Zhou, 2011. "Technical efficiency of food processing in China: the case of flour and rice processing," China Agricultural Economic Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 3(3), pages 321-334, September.
    6. Boris Bravo-Ureta & Daniel Solís & Víctor Moreira López & José Maripani & Abdourahmane Thiam & Teodoro Rivas, 2007. "Technical efficiency in farming: a meta-regression analysis," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 27(1), pages 57-72, February.
    7. Vu, Linh Hoang, 2012. "Vietnam’s Agricultural Productivity: A Malmquist Index Approach," MPRA Paper 94800, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Chloé Duvivier, 2013. "Does Urban Proximity Enhance Technical Efficiency? Evidence From Chinese Agriculture," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(5), pages 923-943, December.
    9. Chih-HAI YANG & Leah WU & Hui-Lin LIN, 2010. "Analysis of total-factor cultivated land efficiency in China's agriculture," Agricultural Economics, Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences, vol. 56(5), pages 231-242.
    10. Zhang, Yumei & Diao, Xinshen, 2020. "The changing role of agriculture with economic structural change – The case of China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    11. Sizhong Sun, 2006. "Technical Efficiency and Its Determinants in Gansu, West China," Microeconomics Working Papers 21834, East Asian Bureau of Economic Research.
    12. Monchuk, Daniel C. & Chen, Zhuo & Bonaparte, Yosef, 2010. "Explaining production inefficiency in China's agriculture using data envelopment analysis and semi-parametric bootstrapping," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 21(2), pages 346-354, June.
    13. Khor, Ling Yee & Zeller, Manfred, 2012. "Doubts on input quality: The effect of inaccurate fertilizer content on the estimation of production functions and technical efficiency," 2012 Conference, August 18-24, 2012, Foz do Iguacu, Brazil 126212, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    14. Alan de Brauw & Jikun Huang & Scott Rozelle, "undated". "Sequencing and the Success of Gradualism: Empirical Evidence from China's Agricultural Reform," Center for Development Economics 173, Department of Economics, Williams College.
    15. Wang, Xiaobing, 2007. "Labor market behavior of Chinese rural households during transition," Studies on the Agricultural and Food Sector in Transition Economies, Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Transition Economies (IAMO), volume 42, number 92321.
    16. Gong, Binlei, 2018. "Agricultural reforms and production in China: Changes in provincial production function and productivity in 1978–2015," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 18-31.
    17. Jia, Lili, 2012. "Land fragmentation and off-farm labor supply in China," Studies on the Agricultural and Food Sector in Transition Economies, Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Transition Economies (IAMO), volume 66, number 66.
    18. Huang, Jikun & Rozelle, Scott, 2010. "Agricultural Development, Nutrition, and the Policies Behind China’s Success," Asian Journal of Agriculture and Development, Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), vol. 7(1), pages 1-34, June.
    19. Ito, Junichi, 2010. "Inter-regional difference of agricultural productivity in China: Distinction between biochemical and machinery technology," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 21(3), pages 394-410, September.
    20. Ma, Shuzhong & Feng, Han, 2013. "Will the decline of efficiency in China's agriculture come to an end? An analysis based on opening and convergence," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 179-190.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    agricultural development; human capital; non-point pollution; China;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O4 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity
    • Q1 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:fec:journl:v:4:y:2009:i:4:p:633-648. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Frank H. Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.