Hirschman in Beijing: China’s Unbalanced Growth in the 1980s and 1990s

Abstract

The text aims to provide a panoramic view of the main structural transformations of the Chinese economy between 1978 and the mid-1990s. The analysis focuses on the general strategic guideline of the Chinese Communist Party to modernize the productive forces, with special emphasis on the role played by State planning in industrial development. It is argued that, for the reforms of this period, the country's development trajectory can be better understood in light of Hirscman's ideas in his unbalanced growth model. The accelerated growth of the provinces in the coastal region, especially in the industrial sector, with greater technological dynamism, appears to have resulted from deliberate State policies to choose specific strategic regions and sectors to leverage national development.

Keywords: China. Development. Hirschman.