Search

Begin New Search Topic Economics Political Geography China

631. Regional Inequality and Convergence in Europe, 1995 – 2005

Author:
Arne Melchior
Publication Date:
11-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Norwegian Institute of International Affairs
Abstract:
The paper presents new results on within-country regional inequality in per capita income for 36 countries during 1995-2005; focusing on Europe but with some non-European countries included for comparison. In 23 of the 36 countries there was a significant increase in regional inequality during the period, and in only three cases there was a reduction. Regional inequality increased in all countries of Central and Eastern Europe, while for most Western European countries there was little change. For the EU-27 as a whole, there was a modest increase in within-country regional inequality, but convergence across countries. The latter effect was quantitatively more important, so on the whole there was income convergence in the EU-27, especially after 2000. Regional inequality is particularly important for some large middle-income countries such as China, Russia and Mexico. In such countries there may however be considerable price differences across regions, and the use of common price deflators for the whole country may lead to a biased assessment of regional inequality.
Topic:
Economics, Political Economy, Social Stratification, and Sociology
Political Geography:
Russia, China, Europe, and Mexico

632. Social Cohesion in China: Lessons from the Latin American Experience

Author:
Mariano Turzi
Publication Date:
01-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations
Institution:
School of Diplomacy and International Relations, Seton Hall University
Abstract:
China's economic development over the last three decades has been dazzling critics and supporters alike. Since the launching of the “Four Modernizations” reform process in 1978, growth has averaged 9 percent annually. As a result, according to IMF data released in July 2007, China is poised to overtake Germany as the world's third-largest economy. As growth has slowed in Europe, Japan, and the US the Chinese economy grew at a staggering rate of 11.9 percent in the second quarter of 2007. The IMF report also pointed out that if exchange rates are adjusted to equalize the cost of goods in different countries (purchasing-power parity) China is already the world's second-largest economy.
Topic:
Economics
Political Geography:
United States, Japan, China, Europe, Germany, and Latin America

633. The Cultural Impact on China's New Diplomacy

Author:
Wilfried Bolewski and Candy M. Rietig
Publication Date:
09-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations
Institution:
School of Diplomacy and International Relations, Seton Hall University
Abstract:
China is in a state of universal change—economically, culturally, politically and diplomatically—and the international community is taking note of the Chinese posture as an ascending global power. As a nation, China has economically liberalized and opened up to the world while retaining a government that by some definitions would be considered authoritarian. Previously an aloof international actor, increased participation in international organizations like the United Nations and dramatic increases in contributions to peacekeeping missions are just two examples of the larger soft power network Beijing is establishing. These activities in public diplomacy are aimed at raising international popularity and acceptance of an ascending China through cooperative behavior and international engagement. As Jamie Roth puts it, “China's new public diplomacy seems to have taken careful note of how to strengthen the country's image abroad through cultural relations.”Because the Chinese want to be able to deal with the challenges of a globalized world, they have adopted a strategy of learning from other participants.
Topic:
Diplomacy, Economics, Government, and United Nations
Political Geography:
China and Beijing

634. North Korea's foreign economic relations

Author:
Stephan Haggard and Marcus Noland
Publication Date:
05-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
International Relations of the Asia-Pacific
Institution:
Japan Association of International Relations
Abstract:
Many debates about engagement with North Korea hinge on the precise nature of North Korea's foreign economic relations: whether trade and investment are on commercial or non-commercial terms; the extent of illicit activities, and the changing geographic patterns of North Korea's trade. This article provides an effort to reconstruct North Korea's foreign economic relations, subordinating our estimates to the discipline of the balance of payments accounting framework. Among the most salient findings for the debate about engagement and sanctions is that North Korea's trade and investment have continued to increase despite the onset of the nuclear crisis and a decline in illicit activities. This growth has occurred in part because of the growing weight of China and South Korea in trade, aid, and investment. We also find that economic relations between North and South Korea have a substantially greater non-commercial component than those occurring across the China–North Korea border.
Topic:
Economics
Political Geography:
China, South Korea, and North Korea

635. Honor in International Relations

Author:
Shashank Joshi
Publication Date:
12-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
School of Diplomacy and International Relations, Seton Hall University
Abstract:
The concept of honor has an extensive and distinguished lineage in the study of international relations, although contemporary theory has lost sight of its importance. This study begins to remedy that situation. It does so by first setting out the place of honor in relation to a number of other related concepts, like prestige and status. It then outlines a theory of "negative honor," and situates this in relation to existing theoretical and empirical accounts of honor-related variables. This theory draws on extant work in social psychology, anthropology, economics, political science, and other fields, to set out hypotheses on why, how, and when political leaders of states might respond to certain kinds of challenges in a way that constitutes honor-seeking behavior. The second part of the paper tentatively sets out one way to empirically evaluate these hypotheses. While unsuccessful, this provides a blueprint for further research and a number of soon-to-be-implemented refinements.
Topic:
International Relations, Foreign Policy, Diplomacy, Economics, and Political Theory
Political Geography:
China

636. Country Economic Forecasts: China

Publication Date:
12-2008
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxford Economics
Abstract:
A turn in the domestic investment cycle has been coupled with a dramatic slowdown in external demand, leaving China weathering storms on both fronts. But with the government announcing an unprecedented fiscal package and with fewer structural problems to contend with than in earlier downturns, China is likely to fare better than in previous domestically-driven slowdowns such as in the early-1980s and 1990s.
Topic:
Development, Economics, Markets, and Financial Crisis
Political Geography:
China

637. Why Are Saving Rates of Urban Households in China Rising?

Author:
Eswar Prasad and Marcos Chamon
Publication Date:
12-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
From 1995 to 2005, the average urban household saving rate in China rose by 7 percentage points, to about one quarter of disposable income. We use household-level data to explain why households are postponing consumption despite rapid income growth. Tracing cohorts over time indicates a virtual absence of consumption smoothing over the life cycle. Saving rates have increased across all demographic groups although the age profile of savings has an unusual pattern in recent years, with younger and older households having relatively high saving rates. We argue that these patterns are best explained by the rising private burden of expenditures on housing, education, and health care. These effects and precautionary motives may have been amplified by financial underdevelopment, as reflected in constraints on borrowing against future income and low returns on financial assets.
Topic:
Economics, Education, Emerging Markets, and Health
Political Geography:
China and Israel

638. Internet in China: The Road Ahead

Author:
James Mulvenon
Publication Date:
06-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
Institution:
Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
Abstract:
China's struggle to use information technology for economic growth while avoiding its political consequences.
Topic:
Civil Society, Economics, Globalization, Government, and International Affairs
Political Geography:
China

639. Keeping an Eye on an Unruly Neighbor: Chinese Views of Economic Reform and Stability in North Korea

Author:
Scott Snyder, Bonnie Glaser, and John S. Park
Publication Date:
01-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:
This report is based on discussions with Chinese specialists on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) during a visit to Beijing, Changchun, and Yanji, June 25-30, 2007.1 Discussions followed on a similar round of interviews conducted in April 2006. Several of our interlocutors recently returned from extended stays in Pyongyang and many others regularly visit the DPRK, commonly referred to as North Korea. Topics discussed included trends in North Korea's economy and prospects for reform; current trends in Sino-DPRK economic relations; China's policy toward North Korea in the wake of the nuclear test; Chinese debates on North Korea; Chinese assessments of North Korea's political stability; and potential Chinese responses to instability.
Topic:
Economics, Nuclear Weapons, and Regional Cooperation
Political Geography:
China, Beijing, Asia, North Korea, and Changchun

640. Economic Integration and Incipient Democracy

Author:
Philip I. Levy
Publication Date:
03-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:
Contrary to the common approach in the literature, the economic and other forces that push countries toward democratization are continuous rather than discrete. This paper argues that failure to account for the latent variable of "incipient democracy" can bias estimates of democracy's determinants. The paper presents a new avenue by which economic integration can foster democracy, one that focuses on the means for democratization rather than the motive. This strengthening of civil society is identified as a necessary component of economic integration with modern distributed production, though we would not expect to see it in autocracies dependent on natural resource trade. The arguments are applied to the case of China.
Topic:
Democratization, Development, Economics, and Emerging Markets
Political Geography:
China and Asia