【正文】 中文 5200 字 本科畢業(yè)論文外文翻譯 出 處： International Journal of Social Economics 作 者： De Wang Socioeconomic characteristics of rural urbanization in Southern Jiangsu, China De Wang Abstract Rural urbanization in China has been discussed by many scholars since the 1980s. In this paper, Wuxi and Jiangyin, two counties in China’s most developed area of southern Jiangsu, were selected as target areas. Four characteristics of rural urbanization, namely, multilevel transfer of rural population into urban population。 dispersed spatial pattern。 urbanization lagging behind industrial development。 and important role of towns in rural urbanization, were analyzed. Through an analysis of the socioeconomic development of Wuxi and Jiangyin, three trends in future development of rural urbanization can be predicted: rural population will continue to progress from lower to higher level and from inplete to plete form。 small towns will continue to develop rapidly and differentially。 and rural migrants in regional cities will gradually increase. Keywords China Rural economy Urban economy 1 Introduction Rural urbanization in China has been discussed hotly by many scholars after the 1980s. William (1990) has reviewed most studies dealing with the broader subject of rural urbanization including rural industry. The main fulllength works that emerged from this period were Chang (1990), Griffin (1984), Yao and Wu (1988) and Yeh (1995). Despite the considerable volume of past and ongoing research on rural urbanization, until recently few studies had concentrated specifically on the micro scale rural urbanization process. The process of rural urbanization can be generally understood as the transformation of a rural area into an urban one. Its main idea is transferring the population’s status from a rural into an urban one. The motive power of urbanization can be divided into two types: one es from cities, or rather, from the diffusion of urban industry to outside areas and the construction of stateowned enterprises and key projects. In this case, the motivating power es from above, and the process of urbanization is characterized by a development from the top down. The other type of power stems from the countryside, . the socioeconomic development of rural areas, and its local industry[1]. This process es from the bottom, represented by gradual development. In the course of rural urbanization, the agricultural nature of the region is declining, being replaced by urban features until gradually turning into an urban area. This paper aims to provide a better understanding of the present process of rural urbanization taking place in Wuxi and Jiangyin, two counties in China’s most developed area of Southern Jiangsu Province. Specifically, it tries to define the micro socioeconomic characteristics of ongoing rural urbanization. 2 Characteristics of rural urbanization in Wuxi and Jiangyin The rural urbanization process can be traced back to the 1960s, when the people’s munes began building factories to support their agricultural activities. As agricultural productivity increased, due to the restriction of rural urban migration, a surplus labor force was formed in the rural areas. Rural industries emerged to employ this surplus labor in the countryside, and rural industrialization and urbanization thus began. The process started slowly。 it accelerated with the mencement of reforms and the open door policy in 1979. By 1996, rural industries were already producing over 95 percent of the gross value of the industrial and agricultural output, employing 60 percent of the labor force in the rural areas. Towns prospered and the ruralurban ine ratio reached a balance. On a closer examination of rural urbanization, four characteristics may be observed. Multilevel transfer of rural population into urban population The transfer of rural population into urban population is the major theme of urbanization. During the process of rural urbanization in Wuxi and Jiangyin, there were a number of transferforms, as the peasants could not bee urban people simply by leaving the countryside[2] (see Table I). Table I. Three levels of rural urbanization Subject Rural people Level First level Second level Third level (urban people) Occupation Agriculture Nonagriculture (village industry) Nonagriculture (township industry) Nonagriculture Workplace Rural Rural Town Town and city Residence place Rural Rural Rural Town and city Linkage with agriculture Strong Weak Degree of transfer to urban people Low High Transfer cost (RMB/person) a 1,800 3,000 10,000 Activity space Within village Within village Within town Within town or city Population (in thousands)b 1,000 350 450 245 Notes:a figures of 1986 b figures of 1986 Source: Information from fieldwork First, rural people were employed by nonagricultural enterprises, usually run by the village collective or the individual peasant household, near their homes. Rural people did not leave their village. Both places of residence and work were in the village, but most of their working time was devoted to nonagricultural activities. Through this firstlevel transfer, rural people changed their occupations and engaged in the nonagricultural activities. Because they did not leave their villages, the transfer was relatively convenient. From 19781986, those involved in this firstlevel transfer increased from 100,000 to 270,000. If their dependants[3] were included, the number reached 350,000, or percent of the total population. Second, rural