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Unofficial English Translation

Division of Labor and Innovation: The Marxist Revival of Development Economics

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Introduction

Division of Labor and Innovation: The Marxist Renaissance of Development Economics (hereafter Division of Labor and Innovation) is a new work by Zhou Shaodong and colleagues from the Nanjing University of Finance and Economics (published by Economic Science Press, December 2015). Using the "productive forces—mode of production—relations of production" framework as its basic structure, this book builds upon traditional Marxist theories of economic development while expanding the research horizon, updating the theoretical hard core, and adopting modern methodologies, all with the aim of promoting a structural renaissance of Marxist development economics.

The social division of labor is a vital concept in economics. Figures from Adam Smith to Alfred Marshall have positively assessed the role of the evolving social division of labor in promoting economic and social development. Marxist economics similarly investigates the division of labor, positing that "the division of labor is the category of all categories in political economy." Furthermore, it utilizes the various stages of the development of the division of labor as the standard and basis for demarcating the developmental stages of socio-economic formations.

Regrettably, the in-depth study of the social division of labor within Marxist economics did not initially create favorable conditions for constructing a Marxist development economics. Since the 1950s, Western economics has designed a specialized set of economic development theories targeting developing countries. In parallel, Marxist economics also formed a series of doctrines concerning late-developing nations; however, these doctrines generally lacked a central thematic thread. Consequently, a "Marxist development economics" capable of engaging in dialogue with Western development economics was never fully established.

Precisely based on these considerations, Division of Labor and Innovation starts from the theoretical hard core of "division of labor and innovation" to logically explore major theoretical and practical issues. These include the division of labor between urban and rural residents, regional divisions of labor, the division of labor between government, industry, academia, and research, the division of labor between the virtual and real economies, and the division of labor between the government and the market. The book arrives at a series of innovative research conclusions that not only promote new developments in development economics but also provide significant insights for understanding China’s current economic New Era.

This book received funding from the third batch of the 2014 National Social Science Fund of China (NSSFC) Late-stage Grants. The renowned Marxist economist Professor Cheng Enfu authored the preface, while Professor Guo Xibao (Wuhan University), a famous expert in development economics, and Professor Ge Yang (Nanjing University), a well-known scholar of Marxist economic development theory, respectively wrote and published book reviews for this work.

Table of Contents

Introduction Background and Research Significance The Three Logics of Marxist Development Economics Research Content Research Methodology Potential Innovations of the Book

Part I: Basic Principles Chapter 1: Development Economics from a Marxist Perspective: Origins, Inheritance, and Innovation Section 1: The Economic and Social Development Thought of Classical Marxist Writers

  1. Explorations of the Laws of Economic and Social Development by Classical Writers
  2. Explorations of All-around Human Development by Classical Writers
  3. Theoretical Analysis of the Economic and Social Development of Underdeveloped Regions by Classical Writers Section 2: Non-equilibrium Economic Development Thought in Planned Economies
  4. Origins and Content of Non-equilibrium Economic Development Thought
  5. The Law of the Priority Growth of the Means of Production Department: A Mathematical Derivation Section 3: Economic and Social Development Thought of Western Marxist Scholars
  6. Dependency Theory
  7. World-Systems Theory and Decoupling Theory
  8. Marginalization and Internal Colonialism Theory
  9. African Marxist Economics
  10. Marxist Spatial Political Economy
  11. Economic and Social Development Thought of Japanese Marxist Scholars Section 4: Marxist Economic Development Theory in Modern and Contemporary China
  12. Academic Debates on Economic Development Paths in Old China [1]
  13. Zhang Peigang and Agriculture and Industrialization [2]
  14. Contemporary Chinese Marxist Economic Development Theory Chapter Summary

Chapter 2: "Productive Forces—Mode of Production—Relations of Production"—An Analytical Paradigm for a Marxist Interpretation of Development Economics Section 1: The Mode of Production as the Intermediary Link between Productive Forces and Relations of Production

  1. The Interaction between Productive Forces and Relations of Production as the Fundamental Driving Force of Economic and Social Development
  2. The Mode of Production as the Intermediary Link between Productive Forces and Relations of Production Section 2: The Marxist Renaissance of Development Economics Requires the Guidance of the Scientific Paradigm of "Productive Forces—Mode of Production—Relations of Production"
  3. Economic Catch-up in Backward Countries
  4. How Middle-Income Countries Can Avoid Falling into the "Middle-Income Trap"
  5. The Evolution of Relations of Production in Developed Capitalist Countries Section 3: The Division of Labor and the Mode of Production
  6. Basic Meaning of the Division of Labor
  7. The Division of Labor as the Most Important Manifestation of the Mode of Production Chapter Summary

Chapter 3: "Labor—Division of Labor—Ownership": The Analytical Framework of Marxist Development Economics Section 1: The "Productive Forces—Mode of Production—Relations of Production" Paradigm: Embedding the Theoretical Hard Core

  1. Objectified Labor and Alienated Labor: Different Origins of the Division of Labor
  2. The Dynamic Framework of "Labor—Division of Labor—Ownership" Section 2: A Marxist Economic Development Indicator System Based on the Degree of Division of Labor
  3. Absolute Indicators of the Development of the Division of Labor
  4. Relative Indicators of the Development of the Division of Labor Section 3: Measuring China’s Economic Development via Division of Labor Indicators
  5. Absolute Levels of the Development of the Division of Labor since China’s Reform and Opening-up
  6. Relative Levels of the Development of the Division of Labor since China’s Reform and Opening-up Chapter Summary

Chapter 4: Division of Labor and Innovation: The Theoretical Hard Core of Marxist Development Economics Section 1: Theoretical Interconnectivities between the Division of Labor and Innovation

  1. Conceptual Analysis of the Division of Labor and Innovation
  2. Broadening the Division of Labor and Product Innovation
  3. Deepening the Division of Labor and Process Innovation Section 2: The Exploration of Innovation in Marxist Economics
  4. Marx’s Thoughts on Innovation
  5. Engels’s Thoughts on Innovation
  6. Further Explorations of Innovation by Marxist Economists Section 3: The Significance of Incorporating Division of Labor and Innovation into the Analytical Framework of Marxist Development Economics Chapter Summary

Part II: Practical Applications Chapter 5: Developmental Practices in Developing Countries after WWII Section 1: General Developmental Practices in Developing Countries after WWII Section 2: The Development Dilemma in Latin American Countries: The Middle-Income Trap Section 3: The East Asian Renaissance: Sustained Development in Newly Industrialized Economies Chapter Summary

Chapter 6: Decision-making in the Specialized Division of Labor for Rural Migrants during Urbanization Section 1: Urbanization: The Transformation of the Dual Structure in Developing Countries Section 2: Division of Labor and Specialization Decisions among Three Generations of Migrant Workers

  1. The First Generation of Migrant Workers
  2. The Second Generation of Migrant Workers
  3. The Third Generation of Migrant Workers Chapter Summary

Chapter 7: Selection of Leading Regional Industries Based on the Division of Labor and Specialization Section 1: Existing Research and the Perspectives of this Chapter Section 2: Methodology for Selecting Leading Industries Section 3: Empirical Study: Taking the Three Major Economic Regions of Jiangsu Province as Examples Chapter Summary

Chapter 8: The Division of Labor between Government, Industry, Academia, and Research in Emerging Industries Section 1: Conceptualizing Technical Routes for Emerging Industries: A Cooperative Game Approach

  1. Cooperative Game Solutions Based on the Shapley Value
  2. New Energy Vehicles (NEVs) and Their Main Technical Routes
  3. Considerations of Technical Routes by Various Entities in the NEV Industry
  4. Selection of NEV Technical Routes Based on Cooperative Games Section 2: Cooperation Models for Government, Industry, Academia, and Research in Emerging Industries
  5. Industrial Technology Innovation Alliances
  6. Industrial Technology Research Institutes Chapter Summary

Chapter 9: The Real Economy and the Virtual Economy: An Analysis from the Perspective of the Division of Labor Section 1: The Division of Labor between the Real and Virtual Economies as Driven by the Development of Productive Forces Section 2: The Impact of the Real-Virtual Economic Division of Labor on Relations of Production

  1. Impact of the Evolving Real-Virtual Division of Labor on Ownership
  2. Impact of the Evolving Real-Virtual Division of Labor on the Structure of Income Distribution
  3. Financial Crises: Obstruction of the Evolving Real-Virtual Economic Division of Labor Section 4: Internet Finance: "Division of Labor Regression" Promoting the Development of the Real Economy
  4. Internet Finance: Content and Types
  5. Characteristics of the Division of Labor Structure in Traditional Financial Models
  6. The New Division of Labor Structure Formed by Internet Finance Chapter Summary

Chapter 10: The Boundaries of the Division of Labor between Government and Market in Developing Countries Section 1: Literature Review and Research Framework

  1. Literature Review
  2. Research Framework Section 2: Research Design
  3. Objects of Study
  4. Information Collection
  5. Analytical Techniques Section 3: Case Studies
  6. Industrial Development History of the Research Objects
  7. Answering Two Sets of Research Questions Section 4: Constructing Theory from Cases: Excess Public Good Provision
  8. Market Failure and Public Goods
  9. Theoretical Abstraction from Case Materials: Proposing the Concept of Excess Public Goods
  10. From Theory to Reality: Deduction of the Concept of Excess Public Goods
  11. Case Study Verification Section 5: Identification, Cleanup, and Transformation of Excess Public Goods Section 6: Policy Recommendations Chapter Summary

Chapter 11: The Path for Upgrading Domestic Enterprises through the Endogenous Interaction of the Division of Labor, Technology, and Markets Section 1: Problem Formulation and the Approach of this Chapter Section 2: Endogenous Interaction Mechanisms between the Deepening and Broadening of the Division of Labor, Technical Innovation, and Market Expansion Section 3: Research Design Section 4: The Industrial Upgrading Path of China’s Electric Power Industry

  1. Stage One of Upgrading: From Value Nodes to Product Value Fragments
  2. Stage Two: From Product Value Fragments to Industry Value Chains
  3. Stage Three: From Industry Value Chains to Industrial Value Networks
  4. Stage Four: From Industrial Value Networks to National Value Spaces
  5. Deepening and Broadening the Division of Labor in the Upgrading of the Electric Power Industry Chapter Summary

Part III: Future Outlook Chapter 12: Alienation of Labor and the Development of the Division of Labor Section 1: The Non-Public Sector and the Phenomenon of Alienated Labor Section 2: The Correction of Alienated Labor through Public Ownership Chapter Summary

Chapter 13: Evolution of Socio-Economic Formations using Division of Labor Characteristics as Demarcation Standards Section 1: Demarcation of Socio-Economic Formations: An Analysis Section 2: Primitive Socio-Economic Formations based on the Natural Division of Labor Section 3: Private Ownership Socio-Economic Formations based on the Enforced Division of Labor

  1. From the Natural Division of Labor to the Enforced Division of Labor
  2. The Capitalist Socio-Economic Formation: The Peak of the Enforced Division of Labor
  3. Development of the Division of Labor in Contemporary Capitalist Society Section 4: The Communist Socio-Economic Formation based on the Conscious Division of Labor Chapter Summary

Conclusion Appendix References