Economics 274 Fall 2018

In Japan, motor vehicles were few and far between in the 1950s, and in 1956 half of all vehicles produced were still 3-wheelers. Car production surpassed that of trucks only in 1969, and it was only from the mid-1970s that there were more cars than trucks on the road. Even in 1985 there were only… Continue reading Chinese Industrial Policy: an automotive example →

This isn’t about China, but it is a particularly clear example of results that rendered nonsense by the failure to distinguish correlation from causation. In this case, it’s a likely outside factor that affects both the “independent” variables (the right-hand side) and the “dependent” variable (the left-hand side of y = a + ßX, where… Continue reading Endogeneity →

Oct 18 on Bloomberg, China’s Belt and Road Ambitions: China Is Forced to Reconsider Its Route Into Eastern Europe; 16+1 members disappointed as projects fail to materialize China’s historical geopolitics kept it focused on Central Asia. Yes, in the late Ming Dynasty (16 century) Japanese pirates repeatedly plundered coastal areas. Then there were the British… Continue reading BRI: 一带一路 →

We analyzed key motives for purchasing foreign exchange. These are: speculation imports portfolio considerations (purchasing US$ assets) direct foreign investment (developing oilfields and building factories and purchasing companies to operate them, eg, not “portfolio”) earn returns (eg, interest) We focused on the latter as an empirically relevant factor in currency movements (take Econ 271 for… Continue reading Foreign Exchange →

A popular meme inside the Beltway is that China is stealing us blind. In the background is the assumption that domestic technological capabilities are minimal, and that anything and everything incorporating technology or design must be stolen or counterfeit. In the automotive industry, this turns into the claim that companies are being “forced” to hand… Continue reading Cell Phones, Value Chains and Technology →

It’s an exciting time to study the world’s largest economy, with 1.4 billion people and a middle/upper class almost double the size of those of the US or Europe. If you’re a global company such as GM or VW, there’s a good chance you make more money in China than anywhere else in the world.… Continue reading China! →

Today’s powerpoint Chinas Future. I left in the agriculture elasticities slide and other details that we covered earlier in the term. I added details to the open economy savings-investment balance (S-I) + (T-G) = (X-M) to the end.

Two of the largest of China’s fifty-six recognized ethnic minority populations, the Hui and the Uyghur, both largely practice Islam and have both occupied their respective corners of China for centuries. This might lead one to believe that these two groups live similar lives. However, the manner in which the Chinese government treats them could… Continue reading Uyghurs and Hui: China’s Muslim Minorities →

As the GDP growth in China begins to decrease, the Chinese air travel market is expanding rapidly. Chinese have increased their use of air travel by over 700% since 2000, and China is predicted to overtake the U.S. as the world’s largest aviation market by 2033. Many of the aircraft manufactures are struggling to keep… Continue reading China’s Rapidly Expanding Air Travel Market →

Since President Trump’s inauguration in January of this year, the DOW Jones industrial average, the most basic metric for watching the American stock market, has increase by about 5%. Just a few weeks ago, the average broke 21,000, signaling an all-time high. While financial experts were initially worried by what a Trump presidency would do… Continue reading Chinese Markets React to Trump →

The institutions of marriage and family have undergone a shift in terms of their role in Chinese society. The gender-skewing impact of China’s one-child policy has left the nation with a dearth of young women relative to their male counterparts (a product of many Chinese parents’ preference that their only offspring be male). This, along… Continue reading Chinese Marriage: A Pragmatic Venture →

  Next week, on Thursday and Friday, President Donald Trump will host Chinese President Xi Jinping at his Mar-a-Lago resort. This is not the first-time Mar-a-Lago has been at the forefront of the news cycle as President Trump often retreats to the Florida resort on the weekends to escape the capitol. One of the main conversation… Continue reading US-China relations: Mar-a-Lago Diplomacy →

The China National Tobacco Monopoly largely holds a monopoly over tobacco sales throughout China generating about seven to ten percent of government revenue. In terms of the global market, China Tobacco is the largest tobacco company manufacturing a total of 2.5 trillion cigarettes in 2013 compared to their closest rival Phillips Morris international who only… Continue reading The Government’s Tobacco Monopoly →

Golf in China is really expensive, a combination of the opulence and social status associated with playing the game.  Memberships in clubs in Beijing can run as as high as $150k for initial fees, and membership to clubs are often presented as gifts among the elites.  In most countries, a multitude of world-class golf courses… Continue reading Government Crackdown on Golf Memberships →

This is the Urban China book in the link on the right – at 550 pages it was too much to assign in class, this chapter alone is 100 pages. Most of the “green” part is on air pollution, including health aspects, but there are also sections on waste disposal and potable water. The second… Continue reading Environmental Issues: Sources →