Consumption and Living Standards in China, 1978–83

Abstract

Marxist economists and socialist planners share the view that the major objective of socialist economic development is to meet the needs of mass consumption. During the debates that followed the death of Mao Zedong in 1976 there was a searching examination of the extent to which development policy in the previous two or more decades had succeeded in raising living standards. A central premise of the policies of reform and Readjustment that emerged by the late 1970s from this debate was that consumption growth since the 1950s had been too slow. What was the evidence to support this contention? In what ways has policy since 1978 sought to redirect economic growth towards increased levels of consumption? Have these policies been successful and to what extent are they likely to continue to raise living standards?