Determinants of economic growth in China: 1978-2013
- Authors: Sipuka, Msingathi
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: China -- Economic conditions -- 1976-2000 , Economic development -- China
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/11181 , vital:26892
- Description: On 1 October 1949, the Communist Party of China under the leadership of Mao Zedong proclaimed the establishment of the People’s Republic of China. Mao was to lead the People’s Republic of China for the next twenty seven years until his death in 1976. During this twenty seven year period under Mao’s leadership the Communist Party of China consolidated its position as the leader of Chinese society and in so doing consolidated communist ideology as the central perspective that guided social and economic planning in China. In 1978, two years after Mao’s death, Deng Xiaping assumed the leadership of the Communist Party of China and this period marked the beginning of far reaching economic and social reforms in China. Over the next thirty years these reforms were to transform China’s economy from the tenth largest to the second largest in the world by the end of 2013. During this period China grew its manufacturing base to the extent that the country has become the world’s largest manufacturer and the world’s leading exporter. This transformation of China’s economy has translated to the country experiencing a period of high levels of economic growth over a sustained period of over 30 years. Estimates suggest that the country’s gross domestic product grew at an average annual rate of nearly 10% over a thirty year period from 1978. These high levels of economic growth have significantly contributed to the overall reduction of poverty levels in the country, with some estimates suggesting that between 300 million to 500 million of the country’s citizens have been lifted out of poverty over a period of thirty years. China’s economic growth has had an impact beyond its own borders, as growth in many developing countries has been inextricably linked to developments in the Chinese economy in particular its demand for raw materials.For developing countries that continue to grapple with high levels of poverty among its citizens, China’s experience of lifting such large numbers of its own citizens out of poverty at the back of high levels of economic growth over a period of thirty years must serve as a basis for some learnings. The primary purpose of this research is aimed at contributing towards building the basis for such learnings, particularly with regards to building an understanding of how China has been able to grow its economy at such high levels over a sustained period of time. This research aims to identify the determinants of China’s growth post 1978. The determinants of growth are studied particularly from 1978 because the year marks the beginning of the period of economic reforms.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
- Authors: Sipuka, Msingathi
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: China -- Economic conditions -- 1976-2000 , Economic development -- China
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/11181 , vital:26892
- Description: On 1 October 1949, the Communist Party of China under the leadership of Mao Zedong proclaimed the establishment of the People’s Republic of China. Mao was to lead the People’s Republic of China for the next twenty seven years until his death in 1976. During this twenty seven year period under Mao’s leadership the Communist Party of China consolidated its position as the leader of Chinese society and in so doing consolidated communist ideology as the central perspective that guided social and economic planning in China. In 1978, two years after Mao’s death, Deng Xiaping assumed the leadership of the Communist Party of China and this period marked the beginning of far reaching economic and social reforms in China. Over the next thirty years these reforms were to transform China’s economy from the tenth largest to the second largest in the world by the end of 2013. During this period China grew its manufacturing base to the extent that the country has become the world’s largest manufacturer and the world’s leading exporter. This transformation of China’s economy has translated to the country experiencing a period of high levels of economic growth over a sustained period of over 30 years. Estimates suggest that the country’s gross domestic product grew at an average annual rate of nearly 10% over a thirty year period from 1978. These high levels of economic growth have significantly contributed to the overall reduction of poverty levels in the country, with some estimates suggesting that between 300 million to 500 million of the country’s citizens have been lifted out of poverty over a period of thirty years. China’s economic growth has had an impact beyond its own borders, as growth in many developing countries has been inextricably linked to developments in the Chinese economy in particular its demand for raw materials.For developing countries that continue to grapple with high levels of poverty among its citizens, China’s experience of lifting such large numbers of its own citizens out of poverty at the back of high levels of economic growth over a period of thirty years must serve as a basis for some learnings. The primary purpose of this research is aimed at contributing towards building the basis for such learnings, particularly with regards to building an understanding of how China has been able to grow its economy at such high levels over a sustained period of time. This research aims to identify the determinants of China’s growth post 1978. The determinants of growth are studied particularly from 1978 because the year marks the beginning of the period of economic reforms.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
Evolution of the African National Congress Youth League: from "freedom in our lifetime" to "economic freedom in our lifetime"
- Authors: Sipuka, Msingathi
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: African National Congress -- History , African National Congress -- Youth League , Political parties -- Platforms , South Africa -- Politics and government -- 20th century
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil
- Identifier: vital:8350 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020832
- Description: The 1994 democratic elections heralded a significant change in South Africa‟s political and social landscapes. This historic moment, and the subsequent democratic developmental processes that unfolded aimed at laying the foundations for a democratic state, were the culmination of a long history of struggle by the Black majority, in alliance with other social forces, against colonialism and apartheid. One of the significant social forces that emerged as part of this struggle against racial oppression was the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL). It is argued that the two most important developments in South African politics during the 1940‟s were the emergence of the African National Congress Youth League and the consolidation of its influence on the ANC leadership. The African National Congress Youth League was formed against the background of very distinct circumstances, the first being the worsening economic conditions for the growing African working class and the declining African peasantry. The second was the inability of the African National Congress to respond to the material challenges confronted by the African majority, because of its leadership and organisational weaknesses. The political programme of the ANCYL was rallied under the ideological auspices of African Nationalism, and its organisational programme under the articulated need to build a mass based and campaigning organisation. With a very strong leadership, the ANCYL was able to, within five years, assert its leadership and authority in the ANC with key elements of its manifesto forming significant parts of the ANC Programme. This culminated into the rise of the generational theme of the ANC Youth League of “Freedom in our Lifetime”. Essentially freedom was conceived as the abolishment of formal apartheid, and the delivery of a democratic South Africa. Formal democracy became a reality in South Africa in 1994 and at the helm of the ANC and the new government was the ANC Youth League generation of the 1940‟s. This generation had over fifty years struggled for freedom and 1994 represented the formal victory over apartheid and the attainment of a generational mission. The ushering in of formal democracy in 1994 heightened the expectations of the black majority in terms of its elevation from a point of view of its existing socio-economic realities. Close to twenty years after the end of formal apartheid the reality has been less than satisfactory in terms of addressing these socio-economic realities. What has been observed on the contrary is an increase in key measures such inequality and unemployment. Subsequent to that has been a less than satisfactory performance in the area of economic transformation which has been seen as a critical limiting factor in addressing the legacies of apartheid, particularly among the black majority. These limits to transformation have resulted in discontentment among the majority, claiming that democracy has not yielded to any significant changes in their material lives. The discontentment has been particularly proliferated among the youth, who bear the brunt of social challenges such as unemployment. The ANC Youth League, has had to confront the reality of being of a youth league of a governing party and balancing that with the social discontentment that has developed among South African, particularly the youth, as a result of perceived lack of social transformation. In balancing these two realities, the ANC Youth League has found itself at the centre of South African politics similarly to the 1940s generation of ANC Youth League leaders of the Youth League who had been mobilised under the theme of “Freedom in our Lifetime”. The contradictions within the ANC, of which the ANC Youth League has found itself at the centre of, and the need to become a socially relevant political force have culminated into the birth of a generational theme led by the ANC Youth League of “Economic Freedom in our Lifetime”.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Sipuka, Msingathi
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: African National Congress -- History , African National Congress -- Youth League , Political parties -- Platforms , South Africa -- Politics and government -- 20th century
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPhil
- Identifier: vital:8350 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020832
- Description: The 1994 democratic elections heralded a significant change in South Africa‟s political and social landscapes. This historic moment, and the subsequent democratic developmental processes that unfolded aimed at laying the foundations for a democratic state, were the culmination of a long history of struggle by the Black majority, in alliance with other social forces, against colonialism and apartheid. One of the significant social forces that emerged as part of this struggle against racial oppression was the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL). It is argued that the two most important developments in South African politics during the 1940‟s were the emergence of the African National Congress Youth League and the consolidation of its influence on the ANC leadership. The African National Congress Youth League was formed against the background of very distinct circumstances, the first being the worsening economic conditions for the growing African working class and the declining African peasantry. The second was the inability of the African National Congress to respond to the material challenges confronted by the African majority, because of its leadership and organisational weaknesses. The political programme of the ANCYL was rallied under the ideological auspices of African Nationalism, and its organisational programme under the articulated need to build a mass based and campaigning organisation. With a very strong leadership, the ANCYL was able to, within five years, assert its leadership and authority in the ANC with key elements of its manifesto forming significant parts of the ANC Programme. This culminated into the rise of the generational theme of the ANC Youth League of “Freedom in our Lifetime”. Essentially freedom was conceived as the abolishment of formal apartheid, and the delivery of a democratic South Africa. Formal democracy became a reality in South Africa in 1994 and at the helm of the ANC and the new government was the ANC Youth League generation of the 1940‟s. This generation had over fifty years struggled for freedom and 1994 represented the formal victory over apartheid and the attainment of a generational mission. The ushering in of formal democracy in 1994 heightened the expectations of the black majority in terms of its elevation from a point of view of its existing socio-economic realities. Close to twenty years after the end of formal apartheid the reality has been less than satisfactory in terms of addressing these socio-economic realities. What has been observed on the contrary is an increase in key measures such inequality and unemployment. Subsequent to that has been a less than satisfactory performance in the area of economic transformation which has been seen as a critical limiting factor in addressing the legacies of apartheid, particularly among the black majority. These limits to transformation have resulted in discontentment among the majority, claiming that democracy has not yielded to any significant changes in their material lives. The discontentment has been particularly proliferated among the youth, who bear the brunt of social challenges such as unemployment. The ANC Youth League, has had to confront the reality of being of a youth league of a governing party and balancing that with the social discontentment that has developed among South African, particularly the youth, as a result of perceived lack of social transformation. In balancing these two realities, the ANC Youth League has found itself at the centre of South African politics similarly to the 1940s generation of ANC Youth League leaders of the Youth League who had been mobilised under the theme of “Freedom in our Lifetime”. The contradictions within the ANC, of which the ANC Youth League has found itself at the centre of, and the need to become a socially relevant political force have culminated into the birth of a generational theme led by the ANC Youth League of “Economic Freedom in our Lifetime”.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
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