Chinese Economic History and Development: A Note on the Myers—Huang Exchange

Ramon myers recently reviewed in this journal four books analyzing China's prewar economy and Philip Huang added a reply to some of Myers's criticisms. They clearly disagree about how best to characterize China's Republican-period economy. Myers suggests that books by Loren Brandt, David Faure, and Thomas Rawski collectively reveal different aspects of modern economic development, while Huang presents the concept of “involutionary growth” as a means of understanding the economic situation. In response, Philip Huang corrects what he takes as misrepresentations of his argument by Myers through a restatement of his major themes.