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The rational peasant in China: Flexible adaptation, risk diversification, and opportunity

Publication ,  Journal Article
Keister, LA; Nee, VG
Published in: Rationality and Society
January 1, 2001

A central component of economic development is the reallocation of household labor, typically from subsistence agriculture to non-farm employment. This occurred in the advanced market economies during the Industrial Revolution, contributing to increases in agrarian and industrial productivity and raising standards of living dramatically. A similar process began in China in the first decade of economic reform and has been central to the development of China's rural and urban economies. Despite its broad social implications, the process by which rural households allocate labor is not well understood. In this paper, we examine the strategies rural households used in the early stages of China's economic reform as they adapted to fundamental changes in the institutional structures of the nation's agrarian economy. Using a large, national sample, we explore the degree to which households diversified labor efforts across types of non-farm work. We find that peasant households allocated labor to non-farm work only after subsistence needs were met. We also observe that peasants generally responded to local and regional opportunities but that political capital, human capital, and cohort effects accounted for differences in household responses.

Duke Scholars

Published In

Rationality and Society

DOI

ISSN

1043-4631

Publication Date

January 1, 2001

Volume

13

Issue

1

Start / End Page

33 / 69

Related Subject Headings

  • Sociology
  • 4408 Political science
  • 3801 Applied economics
  • 1608 Sociology
  • 1606 Political Science
 

Citation

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Keister, L. A., & Nee, V. G. (2001). The rational peasant in China: Flexible adaptation, risk diversification, and opportunity. Rationality and Society, 13(1), 33–69. https://doi.org/10.1177/104346301013001002
Keister, L. A., and V. G. Nee. “The rational peasant in China: Flexible adaptation, risk diversification, and opportunity.” Rationality and Society 13, no. 1 (January 1, 2001): 33–69. https://doi.org/10.1177/104346301013001002.
Keister LA, Nee VG. The rational peasant in China: Flexible adaptation, risk diversification, and opportunity. Rationality and Society. 2001 Jan 1;13(1):33–69.
Keister, L. A., and V. G. Nee. “The rational peasant in China: Flexible adaptation, risk diversification, and opportunity.” Rationality and Society, vol. 13, no. 1, Jan. 2001, pp. 33–69. Scopus, doi:10.1177/104346301013001002.
Keister LA, Nee VG. The rational peasant in China: Flexible adaptation, risk diversification, and opportunity. Rationality and Society. 2001 Jan 1;13(1):33–69.
Journal cover image

Published In

Rationality and Society

DOI

ISSN

1043-4631

Publication Date

January 1, 2001

Volume

13

Issue

1

Start / End Page

33 / 69

Related Subject Headings

  • Sociology
  • 4408 Political science
  • 3801 Applied economics
  • 1608 Sociology
  • 1606 Political Science