inflation. Inflation peaked during the Chinese civil war of the late 1940s, when wholesale prices in Shanghai increased 7.5 million times in the space of 3 years. In the early 1950s, stopping inflation was a major government objective, accomplished through currency reform, unification and nationalization of the banks, and tight control over prices and the money supply. These measures were continued until 1979, and China achieved a remarkable record of price stability. Price increases from the 1950s to the 1970s were generally minimal, although the periods of the Great Leap Forward and the Great Famine were notable exceptions. For example, between 1952 and 1978, retail prices for consumer goods grew at an average rate of only 0.6 percent a year. During the Mao era, "China had one of the most stable fiat currencies in modern times." See also Chinese economic reform The Chinese Economy: Transitions and Growth (1949–present) Economic history of China before 1912 Economy of China Globalization in China Historical GDP of China Special economic zones of China References Attribution Further reading Bardhan, Pranab. Awakening Giants, Feet of Clay: Assessing the Economic Rise of China and India (Princeton University Press; 2010) 172 pages Fengbo Zhang : Analysis of Chinese Macroeconomy Chow, Gregory C. China's Economic Transformation (2nd ed. 2007) excerpt and text search Das, Dilip K. China and the Asian Economies: Interactive Dynamics, Synergy and Symbiotic Growth (2013) excerpt and text search Feenstra, Robert C., and Shang-Jin Wei, eds. China's Growing Role in World Trade (University of Chicago Press; 2010) 608 pages; studies of the microstructure of trade, sector-level issues, and foreign direct investment. Kadochnikov, Denis V. (2019) Fiscal decentralization and regional budgets’ changing roles: a comparative case study of Russia and China, Area Development and Policy, DOI: 10.1080/23792949.2019.1705171 McElderry, Andrea Lee, Jane Kate Leonard, and Robert Gardella. Chinese Business History: Interpretive Trends and Priorities for the Future (1998) Naughton, Barry. The Chinese Economy: Transitions and Growth (2007), important new survey Oi, Jean C. Rural China Takes Off: Institutional Foundations of Economic Reform, U of California Press, (1999) complete text online free Qiang, Gao and Yu Yi. The Wealth of China: Untangling the Mystery of the World's Second Largest Economy (2014) excerpt Yueh, Linda. The Economy of China (2010) excerpt and text search Zhang, Shu Guang. Beijing’s Economic Statecraft during the Cold War, 1949-1991 (2014). online review Contemporary history by country