Economic transitions to market economy : a comparative study on economic reform proposals in China and the former Soviet Union

Liu, Wei (1994) Economic transitions to market economy : a comparative study on economic reform proposals in China and the former Soviet Union. PhD thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

The 1980s and 1990s are historical periods of economic reforms in both China and the former Soviet Union. Comparative study of principal proposals of economic reform and transformation in the two countries in this period is the subject of this thesis. There are five main chapters excluding the introduction. Chapter 2 is the theoretical framework of the thesis which is based on essential concepts of Comparative Economic System. Before the main theme began, primary economic problems and difficulties in pre-reform periods in China and the former Soviet Union were discussed in Chapter 3. So was a brief review of reform efforts in the past in the two countries.

In Chapter 4, major proposals of economic reform in Chinese economy from late 1978 till 1992 were studied. These included reform measures in the rural economy, the opening up policy, state-owned enterprises reform, new policy for non-state sector and comprehensive plans after 1985. Chapter 5 discussed the 1987 reform package, the 1990 reform plans including Presidential Plan and Shatalin Plan. A brief summary of the Russian reform plan in 1991 was also done in this chapter.

Chapter 6 is the concluding part of the thesis. The author compared in detail the two cases and drew conclusions as the following: (a) Both Chinese and Soviet reformers designed the transformation from centralised planning control to decentralised market-oriented economy; (b) The structures of the existing economic system, i.e., decision--making, information, motivation and ownership structures, required various degrees of alteration in the two countries. Soviet reformers called for massive destatisation and privatisation of the state-owned undertakings, while China insisted on a structure with predominant state-owned enterprises; (c) The economic reforms strategies in the two countries are different.

• Item Type: Thesis (PhD)
• Qualification Level: Doctoral
• Additional Information: Institute of Soviet and East European Studies, University of Glasgow
• Subjects: H Social Sciences > HB Economic Theory; H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions
• Colleges/Schools: College of Social Sciences
• Supervisor's Name: Wallace, Prof. W.V.
• Date of Award: 1994
• Depositing User: Elaine Ballantyne
• Unique ID: glathesis:1994-2987
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 01 Nov 2011
• Last Modified: 04 Feb 2014 13:45
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/2987