Dr. Maurer-Fazio Presents "China: The Workers' State?"

On Monday, Feb. 25th, Nichols' Cross Campus Critical Issues (CCCI) Program on China was kicked off by noted Chinese scholar and distinguished Professor of Economics, Dr. Margaret Maurer-Fazio, who was a guest luncheon speaker.

A member of the Bates College economics faculty since 1994, Maurer-Fazio has traveled extensively in China in her study of the dramatic liberalization of China's economy. She is co-editor of THE WORKERS' STATE MEETS THE MARKET: Labour in China's Transition (Frank Cass, 1999).

Her presentation detailed how Chinese leadership embarked on a program of economic reform which initiated a gradual transition to a market economy. The result was two decades of dramatic change. From 1978 to 2000, real per capita GDP increased more than five-fold and over 200 million people were lifted out of absolute poverty!

Before the 1970s, in China, there was little job turnover and managers and workers got the same pay. In fact, a worker's effort made no difference in what he, or she, earned. Work units took on the many functions of a welfare state, including housing, education, medical care and pensions. In addition, there were severe restrictions on migration.

Reforms were implemented to address economic stagnation, low productivity and disguised unemployment in both rural and urban areas. At the macroeconomic level, improvements in income and welfare were rapid and sustained. Industrial reforms of the 1980 included the adoption of managerial contracts which linked managers pay to performance in terms of profits and sales.

Unique to Nichols College is a CCCI Program that focuses the entire campus on a critical issue for two weeks. From Feb. 25th-March 7th, A SENSORY TOUR OF CHINA will be examined in over 40 classes. Events include guest speakers, a special Sodexho "Dining Across the Regions of China," and a trip to Boston's Chinatown.