Chapter 2. Economic Institutional Change in Post-Mao China Reflections on the Triggering, Orienting, and Sustaining Mechanisms

Since the late 1970s China has undergone a fundamental transformation from a centrally planned economy based on public ownership to a market-oriented, increasingly private economy. Three factual aspects of this process of change are noteworthy. It began in the immediate aftermath of what is known as the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976). The pace and extent of reform have varied across different sectors, regions, and types of institutions. And, despite strong initial and persistent resistance from within and without the state apparatus and several major setbacks, the rules governing economic activities have evolved farther and farther away from state socialism.