The Economy of China
Economics 252f
Gary H. Jefferson
International Business School
Brandeis University
Spring 2016
Meeting times: Tu/Thu 9:30-10:50 am
Office hours: Wed. 1-2 and Thurs. 11-12
Updated January 18, 2016 (subject to revision)
Goals: The main purpose of this course is to examine from both economic and political economy perspectives the historical circumstances and driving forces that have driven China’s economic transformation over the past three decades. Based on aspects of China’s traditional economy and socialist system, students should understand the origins of China’s economic transition to a market economy and the domestic and international conditions that have both facilitated and challenged China’s economic growth. The course is intended to give students a deeper understanding of present-day China, including the challenges and opportunities presented by international trade and finance, population and the environment, income inequality, science and technology, and political reform.
Required readings. All of the assigned readings will be uploaded to the course Latte website. Portions of the readings will be drawn from Fan, Kanbur, Wei, and Zhang (2014), The Oxford Companion to the Economics of China, Oxford University Press and from Naughton, Barry (2007) The Chinese Economy Transitions and Growth, MIT Press, as well as other readings, including press and media accounts.
The course will include a final exam. In addition, during the course we will organize several ½ hour debates involving 3 students on each side; the debates will address key issues, such as population policy, China’s trade policy, and the link between economic and political reform. Students will also be expected to prepare a 5-page brief on a topic other than that which they debate. The respective weights for the course assignments are: final exam (40%), debate (10%), briefing paper (30%), and class participation (20%).
You are expected to be honest in all of your academic work. The University policy on academic honesty is distributed annually as section 5 of the Rights and Responsibilities handbook. Instances of alleged dishonesty will be forwarded to the Office of Campus Life for possible referral to the Student Judicial System. Potential sanctions include failure in the course and suspension from the University. If you have any questions about my expectations, please ask.
If you are a student with a documented disability on record at Brandeis University, and if you wish to request a reasonable accommodation for this class, please see me immediately. Please keep in mind that reasonable accommodations are not provided retroactively.
1. Introduction
Fan et al, (2014) “Successes and Challenges,” Introduction, pp. 1-25.
World Bank/DRC, China 2030: Building a Modern, Harmonious, and Creative High Income Society, pp. 3-14.
2. China’s geography and traditional economy
Naughton (2007) Ch. 1, “Geographic Setting”
Naughton (2007) Ch. 2 ,“The Chinese Economy Before 1949”
3. The Socialist era: Mao and central planning
Naughton, Ch 3, “The Socialist Era, 1949-1978: Big Push Industrialization and
Policy Instability.”
4. Modeling China’s Economic Growth
Handout , “The Solow model and its implications for China’s long-run growth”
Bardham, Pranab (2014) “The Pattern of Recent Growth and Governance in a Comparative Political Economy Perspective” in Fan et al, pp. 53-58.
5. Reform in the initial stages
Naughton (2007) Ch. 4 “Market Transition: Strategy and Process”
6. The role of institutions
Coase, Ronald H. (September 1992), “The Institutional Structure of Production,” American Economic Review, 82,4: 713-719.
Handout: ‘The Nature of the Firm’ and ‘The Problem of Social Cost’”
7. Political Reform
Jefferson, G.H. and Zhang Jun (2013) “Future Trajectory of China’s Political Reform: A Property Rights Interpretation,” Unfinished Reforms in the Chinese Economy, edited by Jun Zhang, World Scientific Publishing Ltd.
8. Corporate governance
Jefferson (2016) “Chjina’s State Owned Enterprises: Governance, Reform, and Performance”
Brandt, Loren (2016) “Industrial Upgrading and Productivity Growth in China,” in Fan et al, pp. 256-261.
9. Growth, structural change, living standards
Class slides, “The Lewis (Fei-Ranis) Two-Sector Growth model – applied to China”
Yang Yao (2016) “The Lewis Turning Point: Is there a labour Shortage in China?” in fan et al, pp. pp. 388-392.
Naughton, Ch. 9, “Living Standards: Incomes, Inequality and Poverty”
Meng Xin (2014) “Rural-Urban Migration in China,” pp. 382-387.
10. China’s Financial System
Ma, Guonan (2014), “China’s High Savings Puzzle,” in Fan et al. pp. 190-193
Articles from the Wall Street Journal: “Credit Binge…”; “Debt Drag…”;””…Echos U.S. Crisis”
11. Trade and FDI
Harrison, Ann, (2014) “Trade and Industrial Policy: China in the 1990s to Today, (in Fan et al, pp. 161-169.
Foubini, Nouriel and Adam Wolfe (2014) “China is headed for a financial crisis and a sharp slowdown,” in Fan et al, pp. 212-216.
12. Science and technology;
Naughton, Ch. 15 ,“Technology Policy and the Knowledge-Based Economy”
Jefferson and Jian Gao, “Science and Technology Takeoff in China?
Sources of Rising R&D Intensity,” Asia Pacific Business Review, 2006.
.Temple, Robert, 2002, “The Genius of China: 3,000 Years of Science, Discovery and Invention, Prion Books Limited, London
13. Environmental challenges
Naughton, Ch. 20, Environmental Quality and the Sustainability of Growth”
Cai Ximing and Michelle Miro (2014) “Sustainable water resources management in China: Critical issues and opportunities for policy reforms,” in Fan et al, pp. 358-363.
Qi Ye (2014) “”Climate Change,” in Fan et al, pp. 369-374
13. China’s Future: A Middle-Income Trap?
Perkins, Dwight (2014) “China’s Future Performance and Development Challenges,” in Fan et al, pp. 70-74.
Robert, Fogel (2010) : $123,000,000,000,000: China’s China’s estimated economy by the year 2040. Be warned.” Foreign Policy, January, February 2010
Friedman,, George (2010) “The End Of The Chinese Economic Miracle,” Forbes.
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