Chinese Economy

Section 1 of this course will explore recent empirical studies on China's political economy. In recent years, the increasing availability of diverse and large-scale datasets has enabled researchers to conduct in-depth analyses of fundamental issues in China's political and economic landscape. Key topics covered in this section include the influence of historical factors, the role of institutions and policies, political leaders, connections and corruption, innovation, and China's impact on other countries. Through this section, students are expected to develop an understanding of empirical research on China's political economy.
In Section 2, students will learn the fundamentals of China’s unique economic system. Topics covered in this section includes: the conventional planned economic system and its subsequent reform, the dual-structured labor market and its changes, the central-local state budget system and the burgeoning capital market, technological development, state-owned enterprise reform, and industrial policies.

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授業計画

Section 1. Political economics (by Asei Ito) Week 1. Historical factors Bai, Y. and Jia, R. (2016) “Elite Recruitment and Political Stability: The Impact of the Abolition of China’s Civil Service Exam.” Econometrica, 2016, 84(2), pp.677‒733. Chen, Y., & Zhou, L. A. (2007). The long-term health and economic consequences of the 1959–1961 famine in China. Journal of Health Economics, 26(4), 659-681. Week 2. Institution and policy Li, H., & Zhou, L. A. (2005). Political turnover and economic performance: the incentive role of personnel control in China. Journal of Public Economics, 89(9-10), 1743-1762. Wang, S., & Yang, D. Y. (2024). Policy experimentation in China: The political economy of policy learning, Journal of Political Economy. Week 3. Political leaders Jones, Benjamin F., and Olken, Benjamin A. (2005). Do leaders matter? National leadership and growth since World War II. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 120(3), 835-864. Ito, Asei, Lim, Jaehwan, and Zhang, Hongyong. (2025). Remembering Li Keqiang: Policy Divergence in Zhongnanhai and Its Economic Consequences. The China Quarterly. Week 4. Connection and corruption Li, H., Meng, L., Wang, Q., & Zhou, L. A. (2008). Political connections, financing and firm performance: Evidence from Chinese private firms. Journal of development economics, 87(2), 283-299. Li, X., Pan, W., & Xu, G. (2024). A “leaner” government? The effect of China's anti-corruption campaign on the body weight and health of public sector employees. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 217, 141-169. Week 5. Information and innovation Beraja, M., Kao, A., Yang, D. Y., & Yuchtman, N. (2023). AI-tocracy. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 138(3), 1349-1402. Week 6. China effect Dreher, A., Fuchs, A., Hodler, R., Parks, B. C., Raschky, P. A., & Tierney, M. J. (2019). African leaders and the geography of China's foreign assistance. Journal of Development Economics, 140, 44-71. Fuchs, A., & Klann, N. H. (2013). Paying a visit: The Dalai Lama effect on international trade. Journal of International Economics, 91(1), 164-177. Section 2. Economic Systems and Productive Factors (by Tomoo Marukawa) Week 7 (Dec.3) Planned Economy in China Week 8 (Dec.10) The Transition to Market Economy Week 9.(Dec.17) Labor Market Issues and the Rural Economy Week 10.(Dec.24) State Budget and Finance Week 11.(Jan.7) Catching up, Catching down, and getting closer to the Technological Frontier Week 12.(Jan.14) State-owned Enterprise Reform Week 13.(Jan.21) The Evolution of China’s Industrial Policy