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| RURAL HOUSEHOLD STUDY IN ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY: AN IMPORTANT AND OVERLOOKED THEME IN CHINA |
| LI Xiao-jian1,2 |
1. Research Institute of Yellow River Civilization and Sustainable Development, Henan University, Kaifeng 475001, China;
2. Center for Sustainable Development Studies, Henan University of Finance & Economics, Zhengzhou 450002, China |
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Abstract China's two-third population is living in rural area. Development in rural area appears significant and problematic in China's overall modernization. As the household, both a consumer and a producer, is the main organization in the rural areas of China, it is unlikely to entirely understand rural development without study on rural households. In particular, under China's strategy to build a well-off society in an all-round way in the first twenty years of this century, the theme of rural household study appears notably important. In current situation, however, households are overlooked in most economic geography studies, particularly in those pertinent to the rural area. This paper reveals the limitations from unequal treatment of households in rural development, and emphasizes the special roles played by households in the rural area. Especially, the strong relationship may highly likely exist between rural households and rural economic growth, and between rural households and development orientation of rural area. After a critical review on relevant works and articles, several important research themes are suggested for undertaking household studies. Firstly, the relationship between environment and rural household development should be explored. Given China's great regional differentiation, results from this study may show substantial contribution to international research. Secondly, modeling of rural development from perspective of individual households is expected to evaluate the side effects of rural industrialization and urbanization. Thirdly, by considering the preference of households in designing their future, a new framework of rural development may be proposed in regional and strategic planning.
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Received: 15 April 2005
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2005, Vol. 20 
