Pump-set clusters in China: Explaining the organization of the industry that revolutionized Asian agriculture

Abstract

This paper studies the pump-set industry in rural China, which has led to the widespread diffusion of inexpensive and readily repairable pumping technology in countries such as Bangladesh, Pakistan and Viet Nam. To do so, we first describe the rise of China’s pump-set industry, which includes hundreds of small family-owned enterprises that are doing business in a manufacturing cluster located in a single small town in southern China. We then discuss the advantages and disadvantages associated with this type of industrial structure. We conclude by examining the dynamics of the industry that have emerged during the past decade and speculate on future developments of China’s pump-set industry and the ways that it may continue to support the further expansion of food production in Asia.

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