Abstract
"In time of difficulties, we must not lose sight of our achievements." This quotation from the Communist leader Mao Tse-Tung (1893-1976) could perfectly apply to his economic policy. When Mao came to power in October 1949, China was out of a decade of war and its economy was still very backward and when he died in 1976, Chinese economy had made significant progresses in many fields, but China was still an underdeveloped country in comparison with Western countries, or even with Asian countries such as Japan or South Korea. After 1978, China felt the need for reforms and took the path toward "Socialist market economy" and now it seems that there is nothing left of Mao's era. Given the high growth rates reached by China during the last two decades when it seems to have got rid off its Maoist heritage and the denunciation campaigns Mao has been the target of, we may wonder if it is possible to find any positive achievement from Mao's period. In other words, did Mao achieve to improve the Chinese economy, or on the contrary, did he slow down the Chinese "take-off" (Rostow)?
