Summary

Ma Hong born in Dingxiang County

Dingxiang County

Dingxiang County is a district of Shanxi, China. It is under the administration of Xinzhou city.-References:*...

, Shanxi Province, China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

, was a well known economist and was chiefly responsible for the reintroduction of market economics

Market economy

A market economy is an economy in which the prices of goods and services are determined in a free price system. This is often contrasted with a state-directed or planned economy. Market economies can range from hypothetically pure laissez-faire variants to an assortment of real-world mixed...

 to China. He also pioneered Policy Consultation and chaired a government think tank

Think tank

A think tank is an organization that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, and technology issues. Most think tanks are non-profit organizations, which some countries such as the United States and Canada provide with tax...

.

Early life

Ma Hong took part in Ximenghui in 1936, an organization of resistance against the Japanese. The following year he was involved in the organization of the General Trade Union

General union

A General Union is a trade union which represents workers from all industries and companies, rather than just one organization or a particular sector, as in a craft union or industrial union...

 of Tongpu Railroad, and in that same year joined the Communist Party of China. In 1938 he went to Yan'an

Yan'an

Yan'an , is a prefecture-level city in the Shanbei region of Shaanxi province in China, administering several counties, including Zhidan County , which served as the Chinese communist capital before the city of Yan'an proper took that role....

, then the Communist capital, and won Chen Yun's

Chen Yun

Chen Yun was one of the most influential leaders of the People's Republic of China during the 1980s and 90s, and one of the top leaders of the Communist Party of China for almost its entire history. He was also known as Liao Chengyun ; it's unclear whether this was his original name or a pseudonym...

 (Minister of Organization) favour. As a result he was admitted into the CPC's Central School. After graduation in 1941 Ma Hong was assigned to be a researcher in the CPC's Central Research Institute, laying the foundations of his later economic knowledge. He was transferred the CPC's Northeast Bureau to be the director of the Policy Research Office in 1949. Through investigation Ma Hong wrote "The Structure and Policy of the Northeastern Economy," and divided it into five sectors. This method was long employed by the Chinese Government. In 1952 Ma Hong was promoted to the post of General Secretary of the National Planning Committee of the Central Government.

During the Gao-Rau Incident, Ma Hong was purged and demoted. He came to work in the National Economic Committee and was involved in the drafting of the "70 Industrial Regulations", which helped China recover from the Great Leap Forward

Great Leap Forward

The Great Leap Forward of the People's Republic of China was an economic and social campaign of the Communist Party of China , reflected in planning decisions from 1958 to 1961, which aimed to use China's vast population to rapidly transform the country from an agrarian economy into a modern...

. After co-composing the regulations Ma Hong wrote the "Management of Chinese Manufacturing Enterprises," which became the compass of industrial management at that time.

Later years

In 1978 Ma Hong's career rebounded and he founded the Industrial Economic Institute, becoming its director. He then became the president of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences

Chinese Academy of Social Sciences

The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences , established in 1977, is the premier and highest academic research organization in the fields of philosophy and social sciences as well as a national center for comprehensive studies in the People's Republic of China. It was described by Foreign Policy...

 and Deputy General Secretary of the State Consul of the People's Republic of China

People's Republic of China

China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

. In 1984, at his suggestion, "the notion of a socialistic commercial economy was written into the CPC's list of doctrines." Ma Hong founded the State Council Development Research Centre, the first of its kind. Late in his career he warned the government of impending inflation, but the government chose to ignore his advice to its detriment.

Ma Hong has published more than 10 books in Chinese; New Strategy of Chinese Economic Development has been translated and edited by Fengbo Zhang and was published in Japan in 1985. His writings have been widely publicized, and in 2005 he won the Outstanding Economist Prize. On October 28, 2007, he died of Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system...

.