First, the definition of rural areas and the basic characteristics of rural economy
Rural area, also known as village, is a concept corresponding to the city, and is a regional complex that assumes the function of a village and has its own uniqueness. Although the two concepts of rural and rural are different in usage, their essential connotations are the same, and both correspond to the concept of urban (town).
(1) The division between urban and rural areas and the definition of rural areas
Urban and rural are two different types of regional complexes. The city is a regional spatial form in which the population and non-agricultural industries gather and reach a certain scale, it is the agglomeration of various factors and non-agricultural activities, and it is also the center of human communication and market transactions. Rural areas are all areas other than cities or towns, usually with scattered population distribution and agricultural and related industrial activities as the main body.
Regarding the division of urban and rural areas, there is currently no uniform international standard. There are mainly the following types: First, a single population size indicator is adopted. The second is to adopt a single population density indicator. The third is to adopt a combination of population size and population density indicators. The fourth is to adopt a variety of comprehensive indicators, including population size and population density, infrastructure perfection and building density, and employment composition of the population. By these criteria, areas other than urban areas are considered rural.
In a narrow sense, a village refers to a vast area covered by a village. Spatially, most of the national land space is rural, including agricultural space and ecological space. In a broad sense, village refers to the geographical area covered by towns and villages. Whether understood in a broad or narrow sense, the concept of rural is corresponding to the concept of city, which is a regional complex with natural, social and economic characteristics and undertaking multiple functions such as production, life, ecology and culture. Undertaking rural functions is the fundamental difference between rural areas and cities. Among them, ensuring the supply of agricultural products and ecological products is the main function of rural areas and its most basic function. In addition, the countryside also undertakes the functions of providing services and some industrial products, as well as housing, leisure, education and other functions.
(2) The scientific connotation and basic characteristics of the rural economy
Rural economy is a general term for various economic activities and economic relations in rural areas, including all economic sectors such as agriculture, industry and service industries in rural areas, as well as production, distribution, exchange and consumption. As an indispensable and important part of the national economy, the level and quality of rural economic development have a bearing on the overall situation of high-quality development and modernization. The rural economy will always occupy an important place in the national economy, although its share of output will become smaller and smaller. The importance of rural economy cannot be measured and judged solely by the scale of economic aggregate and its proportion indicators.
The rural economy is essentially a regional economy, which is regional, comprehensive, fragile and dual. First, regionality. The rural area is vast, there are many types of villages, the natural conditions and economic and social characteristics of various places are very different, and the rural economic development mode is rich and diverse, showing obvious regional characteristics. Second, comprehensiveness. Rural economy covers different levels such as counties, townships and villages, and is a large system with many industries, rich levels, diversified subjects and complex factors, and has a strong comprehensiveness. The third is vulnerability. The weak quality of agriculture, coupled with the scattered layout of rural residence and industry, limits the scale efficiency of rural economic activities, reduces the ability of rural areas to resist shocks or risks, makes the rural economy show obvious vulnerability and instability, and farmers' income needs to rely more on government subsidies. The fourth is duality. With the acceleration of rural economic transformation, traditional agriculture and modern agriculture, traditional rural economy and modern rural economy coexist, and rural economy presents obvious duality.
Second, the research object and main content of rural economics
(1) Research objects of rural economics
There are roughly the following views: First, the view of exploring the laws of rural economy, and believing that rural economics is the science of exploring the laws of rural economy. The second is to explore the viewpoint of rural economic relations and laws. This is a revision and supplement to the former view, which holds that rural economics is the science of studying rural economic relations and the laws of economic activity. The third is the perspective of "three rural areas". Some scholars equate rural economics with economics that studies the "three rural areas" problem. Although the three issues of agriculture, rural areas and farmers influence and intertwine each other, and need to be considered and studied comprehensively, they belong to different disciplines due to different research objects and emphases. The fourth is the list of views on the research questions. Fifth, the perspective of other perspectives.
Based on the existing research results, and considering the trend and new situation of rural economic development, the author believes that rural economics is a sub-discipline of applied economics, which is a science that discusses rural economic activities, development and evolution and their interrelationships and laws from the perspective of urban-rural integration and takes the rural economy as a whole as the research object. As an important branch of regional economics, rural economics also has three basic characteristics: comprehensive, regional and applied. The perspective of urban-rural integration is the basis and premise for carrying out rural economic research and exploring the laws of rural economy. The need for rural economics cannot be denied on the grounds of urban-rural integration or the inseparability of urban and rural areas, just as the existence of urban economics cannot be denied.
(2) The relationship between rural economics and related disciplines
1. Relationship with agricultural economics. Agricultural economics takes agriculture as the research object, focuses on agricultural economic activities and economic relations, and belongs to the category of industrial economics. Rural economics, on the other hand, takes rural areas as the research object and focuses on exploring rural economic activities and economic relations, which belongs to the category of regional economics. The two intersect and complement each other. In the early days, people often confused or even equated rural economy and agricultural economy, and there was also a tendency in academic circles to replace rural economics with agricultural economics. With the development of rural economy and society, the trend of diversification of rural industries has emerged, and rural residents are not just farmers engaged in agricultural production, and this change has promoted the gradual development of rural economics into an independent discipline.
2. The relationship with regional economics and development economics. From the perspective of urban-rural division, regional economics can be divided into urban economics, rural economics and urban-rural relations. In the context of urban-rural integration and integration, the rural economy and the urban economy must not be completely separated, and the study of rural economics is closely linked with the study of urban economics and urban-rural relations. Both development economics and rural economics pay close attention to rural economic development. Among them, development economics takes developing countries as the research object and explores the development of agriculture and rural economy under the framework of national economy; Rural economics, on the other hand, focuses on the development of rural economy within a country, and pays more attention to its national characteristics and regional differences.
(3) The main research content of rural economics
First, the utilization of rural resources. On the basis of resource classification and assessment, rational development, utilization, protection and improvement of rural resources, and exploring the characteristics, laws and paths of rural resource development and utilization are one of the core contents of rural economics research.
Second, rural economic development. The core issue of the rural economy is still the issue of economic development. Rural economic development not only includes the expansion and scale growth of rural economic aggregate, but also involves the improvement of rural economic structure and quality, especially the optimization and upgrading of rural industrial structure.
Third, rural economic organizations. Giving full play to the positive role of all kinds of rural economic organizations, continuously promoting the theoretical and practical innovation of rural economic organizations, and exploring and improving the basic rural management system and rural collective economic organizations, rural cooperative economic organizations and new rural economic organization forms will be important tasks facing the research of rural economics in China.
Fourth, the livelihood and well-being of peasants. In recent years, rural economics has paid more and more attention to the research of farmers' life and welfare, and its core areas include the measurement of farmers' well-being, farmers' income and consumption, rural anti-poverty, rural public service supply, etc., especially rural anti-poverty has become a research hotspot.
Fifth, sustainable rural development. In addition to providing food and important agricultural products, the basic functions of rural areas also provide ecological barriers and ecological products. The economic research on rural ecological environmental protection and governance has always been a common research field between rural economics and other disciplines, especially the issue of sustainable rural development has become one of the important fields of rural economics research.
Sixth, urban-rural and inter-regional relations. To study the rural economy, it is necessary to properly handle the relationship between urban and rural areas and the relationship between different rural areas, and promote the coordinated development of urban and rural areas and the common prosperity of the whole region. The issues related to rural economy involved in urban-rural and inter-regional relations are important contents that need to be studied and discussed in rural economics.
Seventh, rural finance and finance. In addition to the government's fiscal and financial support policies, county and township finances are usually referred to as rural finance, and financial activities in rural areas are collectively referred to as rural finance. In the development of modern rural economy, it is necessary to increase fiscal and financial support, continuously improve the rural financial system and financial service system, and innovate rural investment and financing models, which are all important contents of rural economics research.
Eighth, rural economic policy and governance. Scientifically formulating rural economic development strategies and plans, clarifying the goals and tasks of rural economic development, continuously improving the rural support policy system, and improving the ability and level of grassroots governance are important areas of rural economics research in China.
Third, the development process of rural economics in China
(i) Initial stage (before 1949)
In the twenties and thirties of the 20th century, China's rural areas were increasingly declining. In order to change the situation of poverty and backwardness in China's rural areas, a group of intellectual elites began to pay attention to the practice of rural construction and carry out rural economic investigation and research. The study of China's rural economy through empirical methods became the mainstream of China's rural economics at that time. The "technical school", represented by Bu Kai and others, focuses on the analysis of productivity factors. The "distributive school", represented by Chen Hansheng and others, focuses more on the analysis of factors in production relations. The practice of rural construction movement and the investigation and research of rural economy have opened an exploration journey to change the situation of rural poverty and weakness. However, at this stage, a complete theoretical system has not yet been formed, and the concept of rural economics has not been clearly put forward.
(ii) Stagnation phase (1949-1977)
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, China transplanted the Soviet model from its economic system to higher education. During this period, Western rural economics achieved rapid development, while the study of China's rural economy mainly relied on the study of agricultural economics and other related disciplines. During the Cultural Revolution, the enrollment of agricultural economics majors was stopped nationwide, and China's rural economic research was also at a standstill.
(iii) Formative stage (1978-2002)
Rural reform, the rise of township enterprises and the development of non-agricultural industries have effectively promoted the vigorous development of the rural economy and accelerated the formation and rise of rural economics. In the face of strong national strategic demand and rich rural construction practice, domestic academic circles adhere to the problem-oriented, constantly broaden the field of rural economic research, organize the compilation and publication of a number of rural economics textbooks and academic monographs, and some universities have successively opened rural economics courses. Relevant departments, scientific research units and universities have set up rural economic research institutions and platforms, and the academic research team has continued to grow.
(4) Improvement stage (since 2003)
Since 2003, the state has successively promoted the construction of a new socialist countryside and implemented the strategy of rural revitalization, expanding its focus from simply within the countryside to the level of urban-rural relations, thus jumping out of the traditional thinking framework of "rural" and "rural". In the face of the new national strategic needs and the needs of discipline construction, the academic circles have carried out multi-perspective, multi-level and multi-field in-depth research around major theoretical and practical issues of rural economy, continuously broadened research fields, improved research methods, and promoted theoretical methods and knowledge innovation. In comparison, the current construction of rural economics is obviously lagging behind, far from meeting the practical needs of rural revitalization and rapid development of rural economy, and it is imperative to accelerate the construction of rural economics disciplines with Chinese characteristics.
Fourth, the path selection of rural economics with Chinese characteristics
Based on the national strategic needs and the characteristics of national conditions and agricultural conditions, accelerating the construction of rural economics with Chinese characteristics is not only urgent, but also of great significance. Rural economics with Chinese characteristics should not only profoundly reveal the general laws and common characteristics of rural economy, but also start from China's national conditions and agricultural conditions, highlight Chinese characteristics, and systematically expound rural economic theories, development paths, governance models and policy systems with Chinese characteristics.
From the perspective of common characteristics, the law of rural economy reflects the essential relationship between rural economic phenomena, and is the result of the law and regularity of rural economic activities. Under normal circumstances, people often regard the general trend of rural economic evolution as the law of rural economy. From the perspective of Chinese characteristics, the prosperity and development of China's rural economics cannot be separated from a profound grasp of the characteristics of China's national conditions and agricultural conditions. Most of the Western rural economic theories originated in developed countries in Europe and the United States, and were premised on the capitalist market economic system. Compared with developed countries in Europe and the United States, China has great differences in institutional background, development stage, history, culture and basic agricultural conditions. Therefore, Western rural economic theories originating in capitalist market economy countries are not fully applicable to China, and China needs to proceed from its own reality, take the path of rural development with Chinese characteristics, explore rural economic theories with Chinese characteristics, and construct rural economics with Chinese characteristics.
Rural economics with Chinese characteristics is the organic unity of the commonality and individuality of rural economics. The law of rural economy reflects the common characteristics of the evolution of rural economy in various countries, represents its universal trend and common characteristics, and indicates that rural economics, as an independent discipline, must have common characteristics that can reflect its essential attributes. Chinese characteristics reflect the individual characteristics of China's rural economy, showing that China's rural economics has its own particularities. This common characteristic determines the basic nature of rural economics, while the personality characteristics reveal the differences between countries. To build rural economics with Chinese characteristics, we should not only absorb the rational components of Western rural economics, fully explore and expound the common characteristics of rural economies in various countries, and reveal their general laws and essential attributes, but also start from our own national conditions and agricultural conditions, summarize and refine rural economic theories, development paths and models with Chinese characteristics, fully reflect the Chinese characteristics of rural economics, and provide Chinese wisdom and Chinese solutions for the prosperity and development of rural economics in the world. In the new stage of development, we should adhere to the awareness of problems and demand orientation, focus on promoting the construction and innovation of discipline system, academic system, discourse system, and accelerate the construction of rural economics with Chinese characteristics for modernization, the world and the future.
First, speed up the construction of rural economics disciplines. In the face of the huge demand of national strategy and local practice, the construction of rural economics discipline in China in the future has a long way to go, and it is necessary to proceed from China's reality, continuously enrich the research content of the discipline, open up new research fields, integrate the research force of related disciplines, clarify the belonging and positioning of rural economics disciplines, strengthen basic theoretical research and method innovation, grasp the construction of teaching materials and talent training, and promote the formation of a rural economics discipline system and research content system with Chinese characteristics.
The second is to improve the academic system of rural economics. It is necessary not only to learn from the theoretical methods of Western rural economics and continuously improve the existing concepts, knowledge, theories and methods in China's rural economics, but also to base ourselves on China's rural economic practice, strengthen academic controversy and theoretical method innovation, and put forward a series of new concepts, new knowledge, new views, new theories and new methods that meet the requirements of the new era. Based on China's actual conditions, efforts should be made to strengthen systematic research on major theoretical and practical issues in the field of rural economy, and at the same time pay attention to extracting China's unique concepts and theories from Chinese phenomena and Chinese practice, encourage academic inheritance and the development of schools, and promote the formation of a theoretical system, methodological system and independent knowledge system of rural economy with Chinese characteristics.
The third is to enhance China's right to speak in the world. The key is to comprehensively promote the construction of the discourse system of rural economics in China on the basis of strengthening the construction of the discipline system and academic system of rural economics. It is necessary to focus on the rich practice of China's rural economy since the reform and opening up, tell Chinese stories well, strengthen experience summary, concept refinement and theoretical induction, do a good job in theoretical interpretation of Chinese phenomena and Chinese experience, promote the formation of a number of iconic concepts and original theories originating from China, and make the experience, models and theories of China's rural economy go to the world as soon as possible.
Originally published: China Rural Economy, Issue 7, 2023