Welcome to our book review site go-pdf.online!
You may have to Search all our reviewed books and magazines, click the sign up button below to create a free account.
From Mao to Market
Andrew Wedemen argues that China succeeded in moving from a Maoist command economy to a market economy because the central government failed to prevent local governments from forcing prices to market levels. Having partially decontrolled the economy in the early 1980s, economic reformers baulked at price reform, opting instead for a hybrid system wherein commodities had two prices, one fixed and one floating. Depressed fixed prices led to 'resource wars', as localities battled each other for control over undervalued commodities while inflated consumer goods prices fuelled a headlong investment boom that saturated markets and led to the erection of import barriers. Although local rent seeking and protectionism appeared to carve up the economy, in reality they had not only pushed prices to market levels and cleared the way for sweeping reforms in the 1980s, they had also pushed China past the 'pitfalls' of reform that entrapped other socialist economies.
A Separate Civil War
Most Americans think of the Civil War as a series of dramatic clashes between massive armies led by romantic-seeming leaders. But in the Appalachian communities of North Georgia, things were very different. Focusing on Fannin and Lumpkin counties in the Blue Ridge Mountains along Georgia’s northern border, A Separate Civil War: Communities in Conflict in the Mountain South argues for a more localized, idiosyncratic understanding of this momentous period in our nation’s history. The book reveals that, for many participants, this war was fought less for abstract ideological causes than for reasons tied to home, family, friends, and community. Making use of a large trove of letters, diaries...
The Open Economy and its Enemies
There is a vigorous debate about the merits of globalisation for developing countries. Based on numerous focus-group discussions and over 10,000 interviews, this book studies economic and cultural openness from the perspective of the public in four developing or 'transitional' countries: Vietnam, (South) Korea, the Czech Republic and Ukraine (both before and after the Orange Revolution). It finds many supporters of opening up, but also many who are discontented with its downsides and who expect states to tackle the exploitation and unfairness that accompany it. Among the most fervent enemies of openness there is support not just for peaceful public protest to tackle the problems it brings, but for violence or sabotage. The methodology provides a unique opportunity for the public in developing countries to 'speak with their own voices' about markets and openness - and highlights the subtlety, ambiguity, tensions, conflicts and emotion that statistics alone fail to capture.
Prostitution Scandals in China
Prostitution Scandals in China presents an examination of media coverage of prostitution-related scandals in contemporary China. It demonstrates that the subject of prostitution is not only widely debated, but also that these public discussions have ramifications for some of the key social, legal and political issues affecting citizens of the PRC. Further, this book shows how these public discussions impact on issues as diverse as sexual exploitation, civil rights, government corruption, child and youth protection, policing abuses, and public health. In this book Elaine Jeffreys highlights China’s changing sexual behaviours in the context of rapid social and economic change. Her work point...
Poverty and Pacification
This groundbreaking book powerfully humanizes the little-known urban workers who have been left behind in China’s single-minded drive to modernize. Dorothy Solinger traces the origins of their plight to the mid-1990s, when the Chinese government found that state-owned factories were failing in large numbers in the face of market reforms just as the country was about to enter the World Trade Organization. Under these circumstances, leaders urged firms to lay off tens of millions of previously lifetime-employed, welfare-secure, under-educated, middle-aged employees. As these dislocated people were left without any source of livelihood, the regime settled on a tiny welfare effort, the Minimum...
China's Challenges
When the "fifth generation" of Communist Party leaders in China assumed top political positions in 2012-2013, they took the helm of a country that has achieved remarkable economic growth, political stability, and international influence. Yet China today confronts challenges at least as daunting as any it has faced since the reform era began in the late 1970s. In November 2013, the Chinese Communist Party's Central Committee announced ambitious reforms to address vital issues, such as giving market forces a "decisive role" in the economy, strengthening the social safety net, assigning greater weight to factors other than economic growth and social order in evaluating local officials, promotin...
China Watching
China Watching analyzes the state of European, Japanese and American scholarship on China over the last decade. The international team of contributors explore the main subjects and trends in research being done on contemporary Chinese politics, economy, foreign affairs and security studies. They contrast the substance and conclusions of this research in Europe, Japan, and the United States, contributing to topics that are hotly debated among China watchers worldwide. The book provides a unique insight into the world of China studies as well as China itself, and will appeal to those with an interest in Chinese politics, economics, foreign policy and security studies.
