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by Tomoko Shiroyama (Author)
The Great Depression was a global phenomenon: every economy linked to international financial and commodity markets suffered a serious slump. The aim of this book is not merely to show that China could not escape the consequences of drastic declines in financial flows and trade but also to offer a new perspective for understanding modern Chinese history. The Great Depression was, the author contends, a watershed in modern China. China's experience merits special attention because China was the only country on the silver standard in an international monetary system dominated by the gold standard. Fluctuations in international silver prices undermined China's monetary system and destabilized its economy. When severe deflation struck the Chinese economy, economic institutions ceased to operate. In response, the state shifted its position toward the market from laissez-faire to committed intervention, a transformation that had a profound impact on Chinese politics and economics. Establishing a new monetary system, with a different foreign-exchange standard, required deliberate government management; ultimately the process of economic recovery and monetary change politicized the entire Chinese economy. By analyzing the impact of the slump and the process of recovery, this book examines the transformation of state-market relations in light of the linkages between the Chinese and the world economy.
