The United States On The Review Of The 1959-1961 Chinese Famine Study

This paper describes the U.S. scholars'research on the famine, including the analysis of the characteristics, researchers, and the conclusion. This paper focuses on the cause of the famine and the non-normal death toll. These causes includes"natural disaster","man-made", and so on.On the non-normal death toll,the paper introduces the results of researchers from different disciplines,who used different statistical methods to calculate it.This paper gathers the findings of different period, in order to introduce the researches of the American scholars. With the comparison of papers at different times and the research methods, the paper analyzes the background and introduces the results of the scholars.The initial comments on the famine is topical,without in-depth academic research.China was widely believed that food shortage occurred, and it had been resolved.Since information is limited,the serearch in 1960s was on the rural crisis and food shortages, without further discussion.With China's reform and opening up,Western scholars began new research. After the publication of population statistics, the research of the famine became hot. Study identified the existence of the famine, with systematic analyzed of the causes of famine and the non-normal death toll.On the non-normal death toll, many scholars used the demographic method to do a deep study,which was based on the household registration system.Since the assumptions and estimates are based on the statistics of different age, and different statistical methods,the result were significantly different.However,some scholars modified the data before they used.Scholars in recent years, on the base of the existing data,introduce the West analysis mrthods. In addition to abstract analysis tools, political scientists pay more emphasis on the facts.And economists tend to find a single cause by using micro-economic theory. The introduction of new methods makes the research of the famine becomes more empirical. It tends to find a single cause, with less systematically analysis.