Economics 274 Fall 2018

Jan 20, 2013 11:01 AM ET Following 4th Quarter growth numbers for the Chinese economy, economic expansion in 2012 was recorded at 7.8%, the weakest expansion rate since 1999. Though for the past twenty years, China has recorded an average annual expansion rate of over 10%, with its highest growth occurring in 2007 at 14.2%,… Continue reading Population Decline Eats at China’s Economic Recovery →

China is surpassing the US to become the world’s largest smartphone market. Apple has planned to make China it’s key market. But HTC has had similar plans too. HTC’s market shares dropped by a significant percentage in North America and Europe after a patent lawsuit with Apple Inc., but China proved to be the least… Continue reading China to be a key market for HTC? →

While reading Country Driving, it becomes apparent that traffic laws are not the same in China as they are in the U.S. and residents of China have a different attitude towards driving than residents of the U.S.  The author describes many instances of bribery that occur within the city and how accidents among vehicles are… Continue reading Traffic Laws in China →

  “A New Kind Of Community Grows in Shanghai”“A New Kind Of Community Grows in Shanghai” is a New York Times article that discusses a new green-focused urban project in Shanghai’s old French Concession neighborhood. The Jiashan Market development was created by Brearly Architects + Urbanists, an Australian based company that now has offices in… Continue reading “A New Kind Of Community Grows in Shanghai” →

Construction’s started on a nuclear  plant in Shandong province, south of Beijing. China now has the most plants under construction, which has critics in and out of the country concerned about safety. This is undoubtedly fueled by the recent Fukushima disaster, which did temporarily slow construction. However, the sector is making a comeback, and power output… Continue reading Nuclear Power In China Makes a Push →

Over the past weekend, China’s air pollution reached the highest on record, reaching a level of 465 out of 500. [query: what is this scale?] As these levels generate serious health concerns, it has also become a major topic of discussion for the country’s newest leaders. As the levels rose, residents were advised to stay… Continue reading Beijing’s Air Pollution Hits Record High →

Despite a pivotal leadership shift last November inside the Chinese Communist Party, Tibetan demonstrators continue to protest Chinese rule in their region. New laws issued this week have strengthened the government’s grip on the area, where nearly 100 Tibetan monks, nuns and lay people have set themselves on fire since 2009. Qinghai Province, where most… Continue reading Tibetan Self-Immolations highlight rising Regional Tension →

Watching To Live was a very interesting experience, and I am not surprised that it was met with so much controversy by the Chinese government. The portrayal of the Communist Government was eye-opening, and I thought it was especially interesting to see the juxtaposition of the transformation of China’s status quo and the transformation of… Continue reading To Live →

China’s central bank controls international exchange rates on the global market. On Monday the bank set a record daily rate of 6.2695 RMB/USD, the highest [target] rate since May 2nd.  With the RMB/USD rate allowed to fluctuate up to 1% during the trading day, intraday trading hit the highest level since the introduction of China’s… Continue reading Rising Yuan To Ease Inflation And Capital Outflow Concerns? →

China, the world’s second largest economy, saw foreign investment fall 4% in 2012, the first drop since the global financial crisis began. The shift was from the record $116 billion in 2011 to $111.7 billion in 2012, and does not necessarily mean that investor confidence in China is waning. Having more than doubled sincd China… Continue reading Foreign Investment in China Declines in 2012 →

This Wall Street Journal article discusses how China is losing foreign direct investment in its low cost manufacturing sector, which includes the production of goods such as shirts and basic electronic components. The production of these goods is now shifting to cheaper production regions such as those of Southeast Asia, in part due to Beijing’s… Continue reading China Loses Edge as World’s Factory Floor →

In Country Driving: A Journey Through China From Farm to Factory, Hessler describes a society that is learning to drive and the idiosyncrasies of the country’s new drivers. He relates that the Chinese rarely use turn signals, windshield wipers, seat belts, or headlights; they tailgate and honk at anything that moves. In a word, the… Continue reading Beijing Shuttle-Bus Accident Kills Seven →

This Reuters article details the issue of Chinese new policy of stockpiling cotton in order to keep prices high enough for farmers to turn a profit. The high prices have resulted in an increase in China’s imports of yarn by nearly a third in 2013. Also, the high prices have pushed production to southeast Asia… Continue reading China’s cotton policy spurs yarn imports, drives mills overseas →

A side effect of China’s rapid growth since its reform under Deng, the pollution experienced in the Chinese capital presents an immediate reminder of the tradeoffs made in pursuit of growth. As an unregulated externality (at least historically), the problems posed by pollution highlight the “tragedy of the commons”, especially under the (effectively) laissez-faire attitude… Continue reading Pollution, Legitimacy and Transition →