Number of results to display per page
Search Results
22. China's Economic Growth: Trajectories and Evolving Institutions
- Author:
- Jun Zhang
- Publication Date:
- 04-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- United Nations University
- Abstract:
- This paper investigates the institutional reason underlying the change in the trajectory of economic growth in post-reform China, and argues that the trajectory of growth was much more normal during the period of 1978-89 than in the post-1989 era. In the former period, growth was largely induced by equality-generating institutional change in agriculture and the emergence of non-state industrial sector. In the latter period, growth was triggered by the acceleration of capital investments under authoritarian decentralized hierarchy within self-contained regions. Such a growth trajectory accelerates capital deepening, deteriorating total factor productivity and leads to rising regional imbalance. This paper further argues that the change in the trajectory of growth is the outcome of changes in political and inter-governmental fiscal institutions following the 1989 political crisis.
- Topic:
- Economics, Government, Industrial Policy, and Political Economy
- Political Geography:
- China and Asia
23. Infrastructure as Economic Density
- Author:
- Sangaralingam Ramesh
- Publication Date:
- 12-2007
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- School of Oriental and African Studies - University of London
- Abstract:
- Income disparities are rising in China as a consequence of the economic reforms post 1979 which virtually gave unchallenged economic growth and prosperity to the coastal regions whose economic growth increased over the last 30 years at the expense of the interior hinterland. Institutions in China have seen the answer to restoring a rural-urban income balance by redistributing people from the interior regions of China to the prosperous coastal regions. This can be seen as a supply side reaction to the income disparity problem, which will inevitably impose the kinds of social costs, which concentrations of populations normally bring. This paper offers insights into other methods of transforming the urban-rural income disparity problem in China, the economic implications of infrastructure investment, the relevance of Krugmans 'New Economic Geography' to the transformative Economics which China has experienced over the last 30 years; and the close relationship between how Krugman's agglomeration economies arise and the development of SEZ's and HTDZ's in China.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, and Industrial Policy
- Political Geography:
- China and Asia
24. How Do the BRICs Stack Up? Adding Brazil, Russia, India, and China to the Environment Component of the Commitment to Development Index
- Author:
- David Roodman
- Publication Date:
- 10-2007
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Global Development
- Abstract:
- The Commitment to Development Index (CDI) ranks 21 of the world's richest countries on their dedication to policies that benefit the five billion people living in poorer nations. Moving beyond simple comparisons of foreign aid, the CDI ranks countries on seven themes: quantity and quality of foreign aid, openness to developing-country exports, policies that influence investment, migration policies, stewardship of the global environment, security policies and support for creation and dissemination of new technologies.
- Topic:
- Environment and Industrial Policy
- Political Geography:
- Russia, China, Europe, India, Asia, and Brazil
25. The Role of Agriculture in China's Development: Past Failures, Present Successes and Future Challenges
- Author:
- Jikun Huang, Keijiro Otsuka, and Scott Rozelle
- Publication Date:
- 01-2007
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center
- Abstract:
- The view toward agricultural and rural development in the modern world has changed dramatically in the past several decades. Traditionally, agriculture was thought of an inferior partner in development. Since the size of the sector falls during development, it was logically considered that it could be ignored. Why is that leaders would ever want to invest in a sector that shrinking? Some academics urged policy makers to treat agriculture like a black box from which resources could be costlessly extracted (Lewis, 1954). All investment was supposed to be targeted at the industry and the cities. As a low productivity sector, it did not deserve investment.
- Topic:
- Agriculture, Development, and Industrial Policy
- Political Geography:
- China and Asia
26. From Industrial Policy to Innovative Policy: Japan's Pursuit of Competitive Advantage
- Author:
- Marcus Noland
- Publication Date:
- 05-2007
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Peterson Institute for International Economics
- Abstract:
- Japan faces significant challenges in encouraging innovation and entrepreneurship. Attempts to formally model past industrial policy interventions uniformly uncover little, if any, positive impact on productivity, growth, or welfare. The evidence indicates that most resource flows went to large, politically influential “backward” sectors, suggesting that political economy considerations may be central to the apparent ineffectiveness of Japanese industrial policy.
- Topic:
- Development, Foreign Exchange, and Industrial Policy
- Political Geography:
- Japan and Asia
27. Offshoring, Outsourcing, and Production Relocation-Labor—Market Effects in the OECD Countries and Developing Asia
- Author:
- Jacob Funk Kirkegaard
- Publication Date:
- 04-2007
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Peterson Institute for International Economics
- Abstract:
- This working paper evaluates the validity of available data on and the extent of the impact of offshoring on service-sector labor markets in the United States, EU-15, and Japan. A three-tier data validity hierarchy is identified. The impact of offshoring on employment in the three regions is found to be limited. Correspondingly, developing Asia is unlikely to experience large employment gains as a destination region. The paper highlights the case of the Indian IT industry, where the majority of job creation has been in local Indian companies rather than foreign multinationals. Domestic entrepreneurs have played a crucial role in the growth of the Indian IT-related service industry. However, increased tradability of services and associated skill bias in favor of higher skilled workers could have an uneven employment impact on developing Asia. Some high-skilled groups are benefiting and will continue to benefit dramatically from new employment opportunities and rising wage levels. Meanwhile, the same skill bias may eliminate many employment opportunities for unskilled or low-skilled groups in the region. Developing Asian countries therefore face a double educational challenge in the coming years: the need to simultaneously improve both primary and higher education.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Development, Economics, and Industrial Policy
- Political Geography:
- United States, Japan, and Asia
28. Scope and limits of the Chinese technologic and scientific system
- Author:
- Gian Carlo Delgado-Ramos
- Publication Date:
- 04-2007
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- CONfines de Relaciones Internacionales y Ciencia Política
- Abstract:
- Using the case of nanotechnology, one of the most promising technological niches of the 21st century and one that is increasing in China, the purpose of this article is three-fold. One, the article discusses the concepts of scientific-technology system and industrial network in order to characterize the structure of development in countries that are considered as emerging or peripheral economies. Two, the term maquila-technology is analyzed in relation with the endogenous development effects of science and technology on the linkages among national production networks in China. This includes an analysis of the role of the state, the private sector, and the knowledge centers of production. And, three, the article evaluates other aspects, such as the military, that result in a friction between a progressively technological competitiveness of China with the industrial interests of the West.
- Topic:
- Development, Industrial Policy, and Science and Technology
- Political Geography:
- China and Asia
29. Scorecard on Corporate Governance in East Asia
- Author:
- Stephen Y.L. Cheung and Hasung Jang
- Publication Date:
- 12-2006
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for International Governance Innovation
- Abstract:
- The far reaching economic effects of the 1997 Asian financial crisis underscore the importance of structural reforms in the governance of the East Asian business sector. This paper measures the progress of corporate governance reforms in nine East Asian economies towards the guidelines established by the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC), as revealed empirically through two surveys. The first survey is a stock-taking exercise to take note of on-going reforms in corporate governance rules and regulations, while the second covers perceptions of the implementation and enforcement of corporate governance rules as seen by fund managers and analysts. This study indicates a divergence between the regulatory environment and market perceptions of corporate governance practices in the countries sampled. The survey results also show that, although the nine economies do not differ significantly in the corporate governance rules and regulations they have put in place, there is a significant difference in terms of market perceptions of their corporate governance practices. More than an academic exercise, this study is meant to share the experiences of corporate governance reform among East Asian economies.
- Topic:
- Economics, Government, and Industrial Policy
- Political Geography:
- Israel, East Asia, and Asia
30. Russia's Challenges as Chair of the G-8
- Author:
- Anders Åslund
- Publication Date:
- 03-2006
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Peterson Institute for International Economics
- Abstract:
- On January 1, Russia became the chair of the Group of Eight (G-8), the exclusive group of the biggest industrial democracies. This chairmanship raises many eyebrows. Russia was originally included in the G-8 to help lock in its democratic reforms, 1 but Russia is no longer even semidemocratic. Last year, US senators John McCain and Joseph Lieberman sponsored a resolution urging President Bush to work for the suspension of Russia's membership until the Russian government accepted and adhered to “the norms and standards of free, democratic societies as generally practiced by every other member nation of the Group of 8 nations.” Jeffrey Garten ( Financial Times , June 28, 2005) has called Russia's chairmanship “farcical,” saying, “Two trends are changing the world for the better—freer markets and democratization. . . . But, alone among the summit member Russia is moving in the opposite direction. . . . Moscow's leader - ship of the G-8 reduces the credibility and the relevance of the group to zero.”
- Topic:
- International Relations, Democratization, and Industrial Policy
- Political Geography:
- Russia, Europe, and Asia