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Semi-Proletarianization in a Dual Economy: The Case of China

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  • Hao Qi

Abstract

This paper proposes a model to explain the wage increase for migrant workers in China since the mid-2000s. First, the model consists of a capitalist sector and a non-capitalist sector. Second, households are semi-proletarianized because they participate in both family farming and wage production. Third, capitalist firms determine the wage level in order to extract labor. The paper demonstrates that semi-proletarianization is one of the three stages of the long-term dynamics of a dual economy like China. In so doing, it provides an alternative to the Lewis turning point literature. JEL Classification : B51, O53, E24

Suggested Citation

  • Hao Qi, 2019. "Semi-Proletarianization in a Dual Economy: The Case of China," Review of Radical Political Economics, Union for Radical Political Economics, vol. 51(4), pages 553-561, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:reorpe:v:51:y:2019:i:4:p:553-561
    DOI: 10.1177/0486613419853876
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Zhang, Xiaobo & Yang, Jin & Wang, Shenglin, 2011. "China has reached the Lewis turning point," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 22(4), pages 542-554.
    2. Minami, Ryoshin, 1968. "The Turning Point in the Japanese Economy," Economic Review, Hitotsubashi University, vol. 19(3), pages 220-229, July.
    3. Knight, John & Deng, Quheng & Li, Shi, 2011. "The puzzle of migrant labour shortage and rural labour surplus in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 22(4), pages 585-600.
    4. Ryoshin Minami, 1968. "The Turning Point in the Japanese Economy," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 82(3), pages 380-402.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    semi-proletarianization; dual economy; China’s economy; migrant workers; labor extraction;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • B51 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Current Heterodox Approaches - - - Socialist; Marxian; Sraffian
    • O53 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Asia including Middle East
    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity

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