The Political Economy of Agro-Food Markets in China The Social Construction of the Markets in an Era of Globalization

After thirty years of reforms and continuous economic growth, China's agricultural production and food consumption have increased tremendously, leading to a complete evolution of agro-food markets. The authors use a path dependency approach to analyze the development of these markets, the structure of which remains relatively unknown. The authors use agro-food industries in China, to describe the organization of agricultural markets in China, and its implication for local people as well as for her integration into the world economy.

The book is divided into two parts; the first part reviews the theoretical framework for the 'social construction of the markets,' while the second part presents the implication for the agro-food markets in China.

Louis Augustin-Jean is Associate Professor at the University of Tsukuba, Japan, where he teaches Development of Asian Economies, and Economic Sociology. He has been living in Asia for fifteen years and his research focuses primarily on China's rural development and food systems. He co-edited Hong Kong: Economie, société, culture Paris, L'Harmattan (2007).
 
Björn Alpermann is Assistant Professor for Cotemporary Chinese Studies at Würzburg University, Germany.

Introduction; Louis Augustin-Jean and Björn Alpermann
PART I: THE THEORETICAL FOUNDATION OF ARGO-FOOD MARKETS

1. The Specificities of Agro-Food Markets; Jean-Marc Touzard

2. Markets as a Political Institution; Andy Smith
3. The Construction of Quality for Agro-Food Markets; Louis Augustin-Jean, University of Tsukuba
PART II: FROM PRODUCERS TO CONSUMERS: THE MARKET FOR FOOD PRODUCTS

4. Globalization and the Peasant Life in China: The Rice Market; Victor Zheng
5. The Social Construction of the Sugar Market in China in the Context of Globalization; Louis Augustin-Jean
6. The Evolution of China's Beef Cattle Industry; Scott A. Waldron, Colin G. Brown, and John W. Longworth

7. Specific Constraints in the Development of China's Pork and Poultry Industries; Véronique Chin
PART III: AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS AS INDUSTRIAL INPUTS
8. The Architecture of China's Internationalizing Cotton Market; Björn Alpermann

9. The Dynamics of the Chinese Wool Industry: A Confluence of Economic, Social, Political, Institutional and Environmental Factors; Colin G. Brown, Scott A. Waldron and John W. Longworth
10. The Development of Sericulture and Silk Industry in China; Ni Hui
11. Biofuels in China: Biography of Market That Has Not Taken Off Yet; Jørgen Delman and Yu Wang
12. Conclusion; Björn Alpermann and Louis Augustin-Jean