image: Author Justin Yifu Lin. view more
Credit: Justin Yifu Lin
Research published today examines China's recent successful economic growth and how this could be applied to help other developing countries grow their economies.
The research from the journal Area Development and Policy, published by Taylor & Francis with the Regional Studies Association, shows that while other countries' reforms in the 1980s and 1990s subsequently failed, China managed to achieve unprecedented economic growth. This means there is a potential for similar growth if other developing countries develop their economies according to their comparative advantages, as China did.
The study also outlines how it was possible for China to achieve a prolonged period of growth, the price that has been paid for success, if and how this can be maintained, and the implications for other developing countries who wish to achieve similar growth.
Author and former Chief Economist of the World Bank Justin Yifu Lin said, "It is the strategy for development and transition that determines success or failure in a developing country."
A key reason for China's success was the pragmatic approach adopted, along with the advantage of backwardness, where developing countries benefit from imitating technologies and industries from high-income countries, which involves lower costs and fewer risks. Before 1979, China had chosen not to benefit from this advantage. The desire to rapidly build a strong national defense system and advanced capital-intensive modern industry meant it was necessary to do the innovation itself in a country lacking capital but with abundant labor.
The research suggests there is potential for other developing countries to grow continuously for a prolonged period of time, but to achieve this it is necessary to do two things. The first is to develop the country's economic strength according to its comparative advantages. The second is not to immediately expose uncompetitive domestic industries to international competition. It is important for developing countries to learn from one another instead of using theories generated from developed countries because of the differences between developed and developing countries.
Despite the successes of China's economic growth, Lin identifies that there remain drawbacks including corruption, environmental degradation and increased income disparities between the rich and poor.
The question remains as to whether China can maintain dynamic growth in the coming decades. There is potential for continued growth but recent figures show decelerated growth in comparison to previous years. Lin argues that the deceleration is mainly due to external and cyclical factors, and is confident that China is on track to join the world's high-income countries.
###
NOTE TO JOURNALISTS
When referencing the article: Please include Journal title, author, published by Taylor & Francis and the following statement:
* Read the full article online:http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23792949.2017.1298971
Please note the article will be live once the embargo has lifted.
About Taylor & Francis Group
Taylor & Francis Group partners with researchers, scholarly societies, universities and libraries worldwide to bring knowledge to life. As one of the world's leading publishers of scholarly journals, books, ebooks and reference works our content spans all areas of Humanities, Social Sciences, Behavioral Sciences, Science, and Technology and Medicine.
From our network of offices in Oxford, New York, Philadelphia, Boca Raton, Boston, Melbourne, Singapore, Beijing, Tokyo, Stockholm, New Delhi and Johannesburg, Taylor & Francis staff provide local expertise and support to our editors, societies and authors and tailored, efficient customer service to our library colleagues.
For more information or a copy of the full study please contact: Email: newsroom@taylorandfrancis.com
Follow us on Twitter: @tandfnewsroom
About Regional Studies Association
The Regional Studies Association is the global forum for city and regional research, development, and policy. Regions are a key spatial scale for examining the nature and impacts of political, economic, social and environmental change and innovation. The Regional Studies Association works with its international membership to build the highest standards of theoretical development, empirical analysis and policy debate of issues at this sub-national scale, incorporating both the urban and rural and different conceptions of space such as city-regions and interstitial spaces. We are, for example, interested in issues of economic development and growth, conceptions of territory and its governance and in thorny problems of equity and injustice. The Association runs an extensive publishing programme of journals, books and magazines and has a global presence of conferences and events. It is closely involved in knowledge exchange with key policy and practice partners around the world.
Journal
Area Development and Policy