Top

Published in:

2018 | OriginalPaper | Chapter

1. Introduction

Authors : Yazhuo Zheng, Kent Deng

Published in: State Failure and Distorted Urbanisation in Post-Mao's China, 1993–2012

Publisher: Springer International Publishing

Activate our intelligent search to find suitable subject content or patents.

search-config

AI-assisted search

Off

Abstract

This chapter aims to briefly introduce the aim of this book (to reveal what China is really like and how its systems work), the real factors for China’s growth and development, the role of the state in China’s economy and the reason why we focus our observation on the Northwest region.

In this chapter, it is demonstrated that the China economy is far from success. The party-state owns and allocates key resources including capital investment and mass consumption to generate fast growth. Although the outcomes are often negative, the party-state keeps doing so for continuously high growth, which gives the centralised state legitimacy. We can see the state’s role more clearly in the underdeveloped Northwest region.

Dont have a licence yet? Then find out more about our products and how to get one now:

Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik"

Online-Abonnement

Mit Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" erhalten Sie Zugriff auf:

über 102.000 Bücher
über 537 Zeitschriften

aus folgenden Fachgebieten:

Automobil + Motoren
Bauwesen + Immobilien
Business IT + Informatik
Elektrotechnik + Elektronik
Energie + Nachhaltigkeit
Finance + Banking
Management + Führung
Marketing + Vertrieb
Maschinenbau + Werkstoffe
Versicherung + Risiko

Jetzt Wissensvorsprung sichern!

inform now

Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

Online-Abonnement

Mit Springer Professional "Wirtschaft" erhalten Sie Zugriff auf:

über 67.000 Bücher
über 340 Zeitschriften

aus folgenden Fachgebieten:

Bauwesen + Immobilien
Business IT + Informatik
Finance + Banking
Management + Führung
Marketing + Vertrieb
Versicherung + Risiko

Jetzt Wissensvorsprung sichern!

inform now

next chapter Theoretical Foundation and Literature Review

See transcript of Robert Kuhn’s speech interviewed at International Herald Tribune on 10 January 2008, ‘The Leadership of the Chinese Communist Party Deserves the World’s Appreciation’, vide: http://www.mesi.shisu.edu.cn/0d/45/c3374a68933/page.htm, available on 3 July 2015.

See e.g. Romer, P. M., ‘The Origins of Endogenous Growth’, Journal of Economic Perspectives, 8/1 (1994): 3-22.

The six state-controlled commercial banks are Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Postal Savings Bank of China and Bank of Communications. They collectively control 70 per cent of mortgages in China.

See Xi Jinping’s speech in Washington in 2015, vide: http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2015-09/23/c_1116656143.htm, available on 23 September 2015.

China sets her own official poverty line at $1 per person per day which is lower than the UN par. Even so, China still has 70 million people living below that line.

The Office of the State Council’s Leading Group on Poverty Alleviation and Development, 2012, ‘A List of Key Counties for National Poverty Alleviation and Development Work’, vide: http://www.cpad.gov.cn/art/2012/3/19/art_343_42.html, available on 19 March 2012.

UNDP, ‘The Standard of Living of HDI: Measuring Poverty in China by Big Data’ (2016), vide: http://www.useit.com.cn/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=13693, available on 26 October 2016.

Zhu, Haoyuan, ‘Gansu Urban and Rural Minimum Living Standard Security System Raises Standard’ (2016), vide: http://gs.people.com.cn/n2/2016/0708/c183283-28632841.html, available on 8 July 2016.

One of us has worked as a local official at the county level in China.

For the party line vide: http://cpc.people.com.cn/19th/n1/2017/1021/c414305-29600807.html, available on 21 October 2017.

The concept of ‘comparative advantage’ has widely been misused as the ‘advantage of specific economic endowment possessed by an economy’, be it cheap ore, cheap capital or cheap labour. By the definition of the classical economics, however, internationally cheap or plentiful endowments are always qualified as ‘absolute advantage’. ‘Comparative advantage’ is a relative term, meaning that an economy may benefit from external trade despite more expensive ore, capital and labour at home.

China’s population backlog is an economy-wide factor. For example, the geographic size of Gansu Province is twice as large as Utah, but Gansu’s population is ten times that of Utah.

Zhang, Weiying, ‘Fansi Jingjixue’ (Rethinking Economics), Lilun Cankao (Theoretical Reference), 11 (2014): 48-51.

Data fraud is widespread, vide: http://finance.qq.com/a/20170120/007046.htm, available on 20 January 2017.

Deng, Kent. 2011. China’s Political Economy in Modern Times: Changes and Economic Consequences, 1800–2000. Abingdon: Routledge.

———. 2016. Mapping China’s Growth and Development in the Long Run, 221 BC to 2020. Singapore/London: World Scientific Publishing.

Huang, Yukon. 2017. Cracking the China Conundrum: Why Conventional Economic Wisdom Is Wrong. New York: Oxford University Press.

Lin, Justin Yifu, Fang Cai, and Zhou Li. 2003. The China Miracle: Development Strategy and Economic Reform. Hong Kong: The Chinese University Press.

Pei, Minxin. 1994. From Reform to Revolution: The Demise of Communism in China and the Soviet Union. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

———. 2006. China’s Trapped Transition: The Limits of Developmental Autocracy. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.CrossRef

———. 2016. China’s Crony Capitalism: The Dynamics of Regime Decay. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.CrossRef

Romer, P.M. 1994. The Origins of Endogenous Growth. Journal of Economic Perspectives 8 (1): 3–22.CrossRef

The Office of the State Council’s Leading Group on Poverty Alleviation and Development. A List of Key Counties for National Poverty Alleviation and Development Work, vide: http://www.cpad.gov.cn/art/2012/3/19/art_343_42.html. Available on 19 March 2012.

UNDP. The Standard of Living of HDI: Measuring Poverty in China by Big Data, vide: http://www.useit.com.cn/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=13693. Available on 26 October 2016.

Zhang, Weiying. 2014. Fansi Jingjixue (Rethinking Economics). Lilun Cankao (Theoretical Reference) 11: 48–51.

Zhu, Haoyuan. Gansu Urban and Rural Minimum Living Standard Security System Raises Standard, vide: http://gs.people.com.cn/n2/2016/0708/c183283-28632841.html. Available on 8 July 2016.

Title: Introduction
Authors: Yazhuo Zheng
Kent Deng
Publisher: Springer International Publishing
Book: State Failure and Distorted Urbanisation in Post-Mao's China, 1993–2012
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-92167-9

Electronic ISBN: 978-3-319-92168-6

Copyright Year: 2018
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-92168-6_1

Springer Professional

Abstract

Please log in to get access to your license.

Dont have a licence yet? Then find out more about our products and how to get one now:

Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik"

Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

Premium Partner