WELFARE AND RURAL WELL-BEING IN POST MAO CHINA (1978-88): A DEBATE

During the first decade of reform (1978-88) there was an impressive economic growth, change in the output growth pattern, shift in the structure of employment, and rise in the income and consumption level of the peasants. The number of those in absolute poverty declined significantly, though rural income inequality, both regionally and intra regionally, even at the village level increased significantly. In this context the question arises: did the growth of income and output per head due to economic reforms accompany a similarly improved performance with regard to non -income indicators of well -being? Based on available literature on rural reforms in post Mao China, this paper examines the debate on the above question. This question assumes importance because China in the pre-reform period had brought remarkable improvements in living conditions including the expansion of life expectancy, reduction infant mortality and illiteracy even with the slow and low growth in per capita income. From the Nolan and Sen it emerges that while policy and institutional changes meant for raising economic growth as well as per capita income were remarkably successful, the same instruments, however, undermined the public provisioning of social goods and services and affected the length and quality of' life of peasants in poorer households for whom market medicated access to health services were proving increasingly difficult. But while the pre-reform Maoist period, had strong egalitarian distributive mechanism in place, the welfare standards and quality of services were too low.