ABSTRACT
Some new factory managers on the Yangzi delta in the 1970s had worked in commune or brigade governments, in local Party or Communist Youth League committees, or in local units of the military. Others, of sharply rising importance during the 1980s, had previous careers as technicians or traders. If their firms remained legally collective or ‘dependent’ (guahu), rather than becoming formally private, they had better official cover against demands from centralists. Talented ex-peasants and rural youths could make better careers during pre-1990 reforms by staying out of the Party than by submitting themselves to its rules. Many rural industries were inefficient in “factor productivity.” They ordinarily used low-skilled workers, and they often underreported their staffs. Some used higher-skilled employees from Shanghai city, who commuted to the suburbs for work. The firms’ leaders were entrepreneurial, hired many new clients, and became locally powerful.
