Lovely
presents on state’s role in China’s economy
International trade expert spoke at Western Michigan
University about China’s strong-state model of economic development.
After
China’s recent stock market instability, academic interest in explaining its
underlying economic issues has grown. On February 24, Professor Mary E. Lovely
presented at Western Michigan University on the challenges of China’s efforts
to move its economy from investment-led growth; her talk, part of the Werner
Sichel Lecture series, was titled “The ‘Hybrid Economy’ and China’s Transition.”
Lovely discussed how failure to transition away from heavy governmental involvement
in industrial and service sectors poses serious barriers to China’s attempts to
create a modern economy.
Discussing
difficulties in moving away from investment and exports as key growth drivers,
Lovely noted that restricted competition, an embedded elite class, and low
productivity have inhibited the development of its service sector. The Chinese
economy has relied on easy credit to stimulate growth, but Lovely indicated
that cracks have started to form in this policy. In the presentation, she connected
rising state enterprise and local government indebtedness to China's current
stock market turmoil and rapid capital outflow.
Lovely is a
professor of economics and the chair of the International Relations program at
the Maxwell School. Her recent research has focused on Chinese industrial
restructuring and environmental policy across Chinese provinces and their
impact on labor. Lovely received her PhD in cconomics from the University of
Michigan, Ann Arbor, and has taught at Syracuse University since 1988. 03/11/16