The instructor proudly announces that student-research-projects for the course Econ270 are complete and are presented here to the public. All my students worked very hard for their projects. From a particular angle, each of them presents independent perspectives about Chinese economy. These projects have greatly enriched the course. My students' efforts and contribution to the course have been deeply appreciated. Similar projects for under-graduate students are presented at the Homepage Econ169. Comments and suggestions are appreciated.            

Index:

• Instructor
• Characteristics of the Course
• Course Description and Objectives
• Course Requirement
• Outline of the Course
• Reading Materials
• Research Topics
• Class Schedules
• Guest Lectures
• Grading Policy
• Links to China's News and Information of Chinese Culture
• Students Research-Project
• Zhu Rongji -- The CEO for China Inc.!!

Instructor

Ying Lowrey (Ying Lowrey's homepage is coming soon!)

Course Description and Objectives

This is the second semester of a two-semester sequence on the Chinese economy. The first semester was concentrated on providing the background materials and research methodology. This semester we will focus on specific topics of the economy, and the course will be held primarily as a seminar for research project. Students will, under the guidance of the course instructor, conduct research on specific topics related to the Chinese economy, write research papers, and make reports on their research progress and finally post their research papers onto the internet in the webpage http://www.gwu.edu/~econ270/.

To provide training for student to become a specialist on Chinese economy is the objective of the course. "Specialist" here is defined according to two folds: (1) the understanding of Chinese economy and (2) the understanding of economics principles and research methodology. Throughout the semester, students participated in the course must have the knowledge of Chinese economic system and the reform programs in general, and becomes an expert on a particular aspect of Chinese economy. At the same time, the application of economics principles in conducting research on any aspect of Chinese economy is expected.

Characteristics of the Course

The course attempts to adopt an interactive learning procedure. "Learning by doing" is advocated. Electronic mail will be used as basic means of communication between/among students and instructor. The search for research materials can be extended to printing materials from journal publications, information from Internet websites and CD-ROM databases. This procedure will add extremely marketable skills to students who successfully complete the course.

Course Requirements

Students are expected to finish a high quality research project (not only a paper) by the end of semester. Research reports for the course are expected to be published as a webpage on the Internet.

Each student is expected to make presentations on a voluntary base. However, the more presentation you make the higher score you will receive. The contents of presentations are included the finding of Chinese economy, group debates on particular issue, economic principle which could be apply to your research and information about interesting Internet websites or useful database. Students who plan to make presentation should inform, and to be consulted by the instructor prior to the date of presentation.

Each student is expected to make two reports on (1) your research progress and (2) your research results to your follow classmates and the instructor. The report on research progress must include the topic and motivation of your research, and the set of materials will be used for your research. The report on results of your research must include the motivation, background, related research, the economics principles guided your research and findings (conclusions) or policy implications.

Outline of the Course

China's Recent Economic Growth

Economic Development and Transition under Mao

The Economic Benchmark of New China
China Transformation of the Economic System
Collectivization of Agriculture
The Systematic differentiation between Agricultural and Industrial Sectors
Chinese Economy in 1978
 

Economic Reforms and New Microeconomic System

Agriculture and Rural Economic Policy Reforms
Enterprise Reform: Employment and Social Security
Public Financial Structure
Central-Local Governmental Financial Relations
China's Taxation System and Public Expenditure
China's Industrial Organization
China's Labor Market
China's Banking System and Financial Industry
 

Macroeconomic Issues in China

Macroeconomic Effects of Fiscal Policy in China
Macroeconomic Effects of Monetary Policy in China
Minority Economy
China's Five-Year Economic Planning and the Role of the Planning
Unemployment and Labor Mobilization
China's Social Security System and Reform
The Determinance of China's Economic Growth
 

The Development Economic Issues in China

Population and China's Population Policy
Education and R&D
Environmental Protection
The Economic Differentiation in Rural vs. Urban China
Poverty and Income Distribution
Urbanization in Rural China
 

International Economic Issues in China

Foreign Trade in China
Foreign Investment in China
The Economic Impact of USA Embargo Between 1951 and 1972
The Role of Taiwan in China's Economic Growth
The Role of Hong Kong in China's Economic Growth
Patent Law and Intellectual Property Rights in China's Practice

Reading Materials

Students are encouraged to find any research materials. Here, the instructor is listing a collection of reading material as references. Reading List

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Research Topics

• Can China survive from the Asian Financial Crises?
• Economic Bubbles in China -- Why? How? More?
• Economic Development in Minority Regions
• International Trade and Finance
• Is a Class of Bureaucratic Capitalist in Formation? -- Where is the Resistance of State-Owned Enterprises Reform?
• Over Supply, or Insufficient Affordable Demand?
• Poverty and Poverty Reduction in China
• Regional Economic Development in China
• "Rent Seeking" and Economic Transition
• "Soft Landing" in 1997 and China's Monetary Policy
• State-Owned Enterprises Reform and Marketization
• The Development and Reform of Agricultural Sector in China
• Unemployment and Voluntary Unemployment in China
• Why China is holding the ground while other Asian Economies experiencing the Financial Crises? -- Rethinking the Role of Government in Macroeconomy
• Zhu Rong-Ji's Economic Thoughts and the Destiny of China's Economic Development and Reform
 

  Class Schedules

Guest Lectures

Return to Index
 

  Grading Policy

• Yuko Asano:
Effects of The Migration Policy After The Reform on Rural-Urban Income Disparity
"Growth with equality" has long been a focus of economic development studies.  Empirically, economic growth of  many developing countries accompanied income inequality.  China after the reform is not an exception, and various factors have been pointed out as causes of  income disparity of the post-reform China. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of  the migration policy on the rural-urban income disparity in China after the reform.
 
• Ashley Kline:
The Impact of The People’s Liberation Army’s Business Activities
on China’s Economic Development
Over the past twenty years, China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and its defense industry have become increasingly active in the economic sector. Since the beginning of the economic reforms of 1978, the Chinese defense industry and the People's Liberation Army have used business to sustain themselves economically.  Initially to compensate for declining defense budgets, both the defense industry and military units themselves have branched out to the civilian commercial sector.  However, if China and its military continue their present economic development, defense industry conversion will contribute to the overall economic reform of the country, while the growth of PLA-run businesses will impede economic development, political stability and military effectiveness.  Structural reform in both types of enterprises is necessary to achieve sustained economic progress and maintain social stability.

• Taejoon Han:
China:  a shared poverty to uneven wealth?
Theoretically, a country cannot avoid having increase in income disparity during its early stages of changing to a market economy.  In a developing country, where many surplus laborers are, it is very difficult to have people get rich quickly and equally in a short time.  Besides, some scholars even argue that having some people get rich first has been used to stimulate enthusiasm and initiative for the rest of the people.  However, most scholars warn that if the current gap exceeds certain limits, with no doubt, people may become severely psychologically distressed and question the sense of fairness leading to a challenge on domestic stability.  Thus, China should find its way to balance their recent policy of "letting few people get rich first" and their classical beliefs in egalitarianism.  Although various views exist, the majority agrees on placing primary importance on promoting equal opportunity in distribution and providing members of society with conditions for equal competition suited to developments in the socialist market economy.
 
• Andrew Phillips:
CHINA'S SPECIALIZED BANKS: IMPENDING CRISIS?
An analysis of China's four specialized state banks reveals an exceedingly fragile financial state.  By western banking standards, these banks, which represent the bulk of China's banking system, appear technically insolvent.  Present banking crises in several Asian countries suggest a thorough examination of China's specialized state banks might help reveal China's vulnerability to similar problems and thus the probability of a financial crisis.  Regardless of whether the banks financial state leads to an economic crisis in China, the analysis will offer insight on how the banks have arrived in their present stituation, what reforms are being made by Chinese officials, and what inefficiencies remain.
 
• Noriko Kayawa:
The Modern Enterprise System and Corporate Governance in China's
State-Owned Enterprise Reform
This paper examines corporate governance in the Chinese State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs). Corporate governance deals with how effectively owners of companies supervise management t to protect shareholders'  interests and assure returns of investment.  Establishing an effective corporate governance structure is a common task for operating modern corporations in which ownership and management are separated.    The importance of corporate governance in the Chinese SOEs was recognized when the enterprise reform entered a new stage, that is, the introduction of  the modern enterprise system.  By the initiation of the system, the SOEs were  expected to transform into modern corporations and to improve their efficiency. However the modern enterprise system has not contributed to improving the SOEs poor performances partly due to the lack of
an effective monitoring system.  The absence of functional monitoring in the SOEs derives from confusion of roles and functions of each unit in internal organizations and the lack of external control mechanisms.

Time Magazine China Daily CNN An Article from CND

Comments and Suggestions are appreciated by Ying Lowrey
(ylowrey@erols.com)