Governing Rapid Growth in China: Equity and Institutions

After three decades of spectacular economic growth in China, the problem is no longer how to achieve growth, but how to manage its consequences and how to sustain it. The most important consequence, at least as far as Chinese policy makers are concerned, is the rapidly growing inequality, between persons, between rural and urban areas, and between inland and coastal regions. At the same time, the institutions that have brought rapid growth so far are now under stress, and there is a need to reform and innovate on this front in order to sustain rapid growth, and to have growth with equity.

The analytical literature has responded to the emerging policy problems by specifying and quantifying their magnitude, understanding their nature, and proposing policy approaches and solutions. Policy makers have also been looking to analysts for interaction and assistance. This volume brings together a collection of the best available analyses of China’s problems in governing rapid growth, focusing on equity and institutions. Contributions include perspectives from leading policy makers who were intimately involved in the reform process, and from leading academics in articles published in top peer reviewed journals.

Ravi Kanbur is T. H. Lee Professor of World Affairs, International Professor of Applied Economics and Management, and Professor of Economics at Cornell University, USA.

Xiaobo Zhang is a Senior Research Fellow in the Development Strategy and Governance Division at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and leader of IFPRI’s China Program.

1. Overview: China’s Growth Strategies Derek Headey, Ravi Kanbur and Xiaobo Zhang Part 1: Policy Challenges and Options 2. China is Already Capable of Solving the ‘Three Dimensional Rural Problem’ Xiwen Chen 3. Twenty Years Review and Deliberation: The Choice of Priorities in Reform Jiwei Lou 4. The Course of China’s Rural Reform Runsheng Du Part 2: Poverty and Inequality 5. China's (Uneven) Progress against Poverty Martin Ravallion and Shaohua Chen 6. Fifty Years of Regional Inequality in China: A Journey Through Central Planning, Reform and Openness Ravi Kanbur and Xiaobo Zhang 7. Economic Liberalization and Rising Segmentation in China’s Urban Labor Market Sylvie Demurger, Martin Fournier, Li Shi and Wei Zhong 8. The Evolution of Income Inequality in Rural China Dwayne Benjamin, Loren Brandt, and John Giles 9. Rural Poverty in China: Problem and Solution Gregory Chow Part 3: Governance and Institutions 10. Economic-Social Interaction During China’s Transition Assar Lindbeck 11. Redefining Relations Between the Rule of Law and the Market Weidong Ji 12. Political Turnover and Economic Performance: The Incentive Role of Personnel Control in China Hongbin Li and Li-An Zhou 13 .The Lessons of China’s Transition to a Market Economy Justin Yifu Lin, Fang Cai and Zhou Li 14. Regional Decentralization and Fiscal Incentives: Federalism, Chinese Style Hehui Jin, Yingyi Qian, and Barry R. Weingast