Economic Thought Of Ma Yinchu During The Republic Of China

Ma Yinchu, one of the four most famous economists in the Republic of China, also known as the dean of China’s economic community in the 20th century. His economic thought is profound, covering every corner of the economic sphere, in close connection with social reality, rich in achievements and putting forward many constructive proposals. To analysis the essence of Ma Yinchu’s economic thought, we can understand the economic situation of the Republic of China and extract some lessons for today’s market economy development. Ma Yinchu’s economic thought and theoretical writings are mainly concentrated in the Republican period (1912-1949), but the syudy of this period is still not enough. After a summarized, I have a systematic exposition of Ma Yinchu’s major economic ideology from four aspects. The first part, I firstly made a brief combing of his experiences. Ma Yinchu paid attention to both theory and practice, so this introduction is particularly necessary. Secondly, Ma Yinchu’s economic position, "neither excited nor followed", is discussed. He questioned Marxism, criticized China’s traditional economic thought and advocated the development of capitalism. These pave the way for the study below. The second part summarizes the essence of Ma Yinchu’s neoclassical economic thought. His economic theory was same to Marshall’s "neoclassical economics". The marginal utility theory of value and the social production theory are the theoretical basis for solving practical problems. The third part discusses Ma Yinchu’s controlled economy thought and summarizes its substance, theoretical sources and main content. Part IV explores the main ideas of Ma Yinchu’s wartime financial thinking. Through the analysis of his theory of currency stabilization and wartime tax theory, I show his proposition of suppressing inflation and criticizing the bureaucratic capital. This reflects his efforts for the victory of the Sino-Japanese War and the peace after the war. The fifth part is a summary and appraisal of Ma Yinchu’s economic thought during the Republic of China.