How to make China even richer

How to make China even richer is an Economist article advocating the privatization of rural land ownership in China.

Now is the time to revive Mao's vision of a new landowning order. This would ease rural strife, fuel growth and help develop the genuine market economy the leadership claims to want. Giving peasants marketable ownership rights, and developing a legal system to protect them, would bring huge economic benefits. If peasants could mortgage their land, they could raise money to boost its productivity. Ownership would give them an incentive to do so. And if peasants could sell their land, they could acquire sufficient capital to start life anew in urban areas. This would boost urban consumption and encourage the migration of unproductive rural labour into the cities. For China to sustain its impressive growth rate and reduce inequalities, getting the many tens of millions of underemployed peasants off the land and into wealth-creating jobs is essential. The exodus would help those left behind to expand their land holdings and use them more efficiently.

Comments

[China Law Blog]

I fear this is just too difficult to do in the short term. Imagine how much power privatizing rural land would take away from the rural party bosses.

[Michael Kruse]

I share the same fear. I also see an aging population with a need for an expanding social safety net and a big question mark on the horizon about how long China can sustain its economic growth rate. Is this destined to be a train wreck?

From looking at your blog I see you have considerable experience working with these issues. Do you see any particular scenario as more likely than another?