Mobilizing for development : the modernization of rural East Asia

Author(s)

    • Looney, Kristen E.

Bibliographic Information

Mobilizing for development : the modernization of rural East Asia

Kristen E. Looney

Cornell University Press, 2020

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Includes bibliographical references and index

Summary: "Mobilizing for Development examines how East Asia achieved rural development. Analysts generally agree that modern East Asian states have exceptionally strong institutions and that industrialization was largely a state-led process, but the developmental state literature generally ignores the role of the state in rural development, fails to account for variation among East Asian countries, and excludes China from comparative analysis. This work examines Taiwan (1950s-1970s), South Korea (1950s-1970s), and China (1980s-2000s) to show different outcomes on agricultural production, rural living standards, and village infrastructure"-- Provided by publisher

Description and Table of Contents

Description

Mobilizing for Development tackles the question of how countries achieve rural development and offers a new way of thinking about East Asia's political economy that challenges the developmental state paradigm. Through a comparison of Taiwan (1950s-1970s), South Korea (1950s-1970s), and China (1980s-2000s), Kristen E. Looney shows that different types of development outcomes-improvements in agricultural production, rural living standards, and the village environment-were realized to different degrees, at different times, and in different ways. She argues that rural modernization campaigns, defined as policies demanding high levels of mobilization to effect dramatic change, played a central role in the region and that divergent development outcomes can be attributed to the interplay between campaigns and institutions. The analysis departs from common portrayals of the developmental state as wholly technocratic and demonstrates that rural development was not just a byproduct of industrialization. Looney's research is based on several years of fieldwork in Asia and makes a unique contribution by systematically comparing China's development experience with other countries. Relevant to political science, economic history, rural sociology, and Asian Studies, the book enriches our understanding of state-led development and agrarian change.

Table of Contents

Introduction: The State and Rural Development in East Asia 1. The Role of Rural Institutions and State Campaigns in Development 2. Rural Development in Taiwan, 1950s-1970s 3. Rural Development in South Korea, 1950s-1970s 4. Rural Development in China, 1980s-2000s Conclusion: The Rural Developmental State

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