Reform of China＇s Pension System

This paper mainly analyzes development and reform of China‘s pension system. It introduces the evolution of China‘s pension system reform and discusses its strengths and problems.The paper then proposes some suggestions on the direction of China‘s pension reform. The last section is devoted to a discussion of China‘s corporate occupational pension, which is a fast-developing area of the pension system.     

The Anti-dumping Issue on Chinese Products and China＇s Countermeasures

With the development of China＇s economy, more and more commodities are exported to foreign countries. At the same time, Chinese enterprises are facing more and more anti-dumping issues from abroad. China＇s position on this issue is analyzed and the counten＇neasures are provided in this paper.     

The Reform of China＇s Rural Land System

This paper discusses the reform of China‘s rural land system in the past more than 20 years. It reviews the course of China‘s rural land system reform since 1978 and the enormous contribution that the household contract responsibility system made to China‘s agricultural and rural development. Then it summarizes the current situation and existing problems in China‘s rural land system. Finally, it offers some policy suggestions on how to perfect the rural land system.     

Defects in China＇s Independent Director System： A Case Study of Leshan Power Company

A system has been set up in China which provides for independent directors of listed companies. Whether these independent directors could play an effective role has, however, always been a matter for dispute. The recent case of Leshan Power shows that under the legal framework and share structure which currently exists in China, there is very narrowscope for independent directors to carry out their function. After discussing the main obstacles to implementation of independent directorship of China‘s listed companies, the authorpoints out several measures that must be taken in order to enhance the effectiveness of boards of directors. Finally this paper concludes that without the necessary conditions forindependent directors to actually have a functioning role to play, invitation of independent directors by listed companies will be a matter of form only.     

Global Quota System and China＇s Textile and Clothing Industry

I. Introduction As a developing country, textile and clothing goods remain one of the most important sources of China’s exports since the opening up to the outside world and economic reform at the end of the 1970s. The contribution of textile and clothing exports to China’s total exports hit its record in the middle of the 1980s. In 1987, the share of these two types of goods in China’s total exports was 31.13 percent. From 1986 to 1995, their share in China’s exports was more than 30 pe…     

Effectiveness of China＇s Monetary Policy and Reform of Its Foreign Exchange System

I. Introduction The background of this research is related to continued disputes between China and its trading partners, and to the resulting international pressure on China’s foreign exchange (Forex) system. As the fastest growing economy in the world, China’s foreign trade has expanded at a fantastic pace and its trade surplus with the rest of the world is huge and rising. This remarkable success has encountered increasing criticism, whether correct or not, from the countries that feel t…     

China＇s Labor Transition and the Future of China＇s Rural Wages and Employment

This paper contributes to the assessment of China＇s rural labor markets. According to our data, the increase in off-farm employment that China experienced during the 1980s and 1990s continued during the 2000s. Our analysis shows that migration has become the most prevalent off-farm activity, although the destination of migrants is shifting from outside of one＇s province to destinations closer to home. The present paperfinds that large shares of male and female individuals, especially those under 40 years, are working off the farm. These findings represent an important contribution to the labor economics field. First, the results of the present paper reveal that the labor transition from the agricultural sector to the non-agricultural sector for key segments of China＇s rural labor force is nearly complete. Second, although a large share of China ＂s rural labor force work in agriculture, most of these workers are older men and women （and likely would not be willing to take low-wage, labor-intensive jobs）. Third, the rising unskilled wage rate in China is partially a result of the tightening of the labor force in the young age cohorts. Finally, due to factors associated with the one child policy and other demographic transition forces, successive age cohorts will continue to fall in absolute number in the coming decade. Assuming China＇s growth continues, we expect to see further wage increases since it will take higher wages to coax more workers to work off the farm.     

Agricultural Science ＆ Technology Innovation of China： Imperativeness, Problems and Countermeasures

This article discusses the urgent need of agricultural science and technology innovation for China＇s agriculture development, and analyzes the limiting factors faced to the innovation of agricultural science and technology in several aspects, then puts forward the countermeasures and suggestions of strengthening the innovation ability of agricultural science and technology of China.     

China＇s Energy Reduction Policy System： Outcomes and Responses of Local Governments

The paper examines the outcomes of and responses to the policy system （the ＂obligatory indicator system＂） used by the Chinese central government to induce provincial governments to meet energy-saving targets during the llth Five Year Plan. The institutional mechanisms underlying the policy system that promotes implementation of energy saving are identified. An analytical framework is developed to identify the strategic responses of provincial governments and the factors shaping their responses. Comprehensive sets of provincial data on economic and energy performance are collected and analyzed. The findings indicate that the central government ＇s credible commitment to implement the policy system drove the initially disparate attitudes of provinces to a converged outcome. However, the outcome is significantly constrained by provinces ＇ initial energy intensity. In particular, provincial governments have applied strategies of ceremonial implementation, efficiency-oriented efforts and effectiveness-focused efforts to attain specific targets. This paper discusses the implications in comparison with the modified obligatory indicator system in the 12th Five Year Plan and offers policy suggestions accordingly.     

Elasticity of Energy Demand and Challenges for China＇s Energy Industry

I. Introduction Since late 2002, China’s energy demand and resources have become one of the most prominent issues in international discussions of energy. In our earlier studies of China’s energy demand as relates to transportation and urbanization (Gates and Yin, 2002; Yin and Gates, 2002), we took more of a long-term view and raised the possibility that even if China’s economy continued to grow rather slowly, which was the prevailing perception at the time, there would still be strong d…     

Transition of China＇s Diplomacy and Foreign Relations

The present paper focuses on the transformation of China＇s foreign affairs. The transformation is closely associated with and mutually reinforced by the developmental changes that have taken place in China. China＇s strong economic focus has had a profound effect on its foreign relations and international strategies. With sustained growth over the past three decades （1978-2008）, China has become an important member of the world community. In particular, its influence has been growing in the Asia-Pacific area. China＇s unique developmental model and path are recognized and scrutinized worldwide. The present paper discusses special aspects of foreign aid and also explores the changes in principles of and approaches taken in the application of foreign aid policies. Under dual external and internal pressure, China has to constantly adjust, renew and improve its approach to diplomatic and international relations.     

Income and Price Elasticities of China＇s Exports

The appearance of new product varieties and improvements in the quality of goods have both played key roles in the rapid growth of China's exports. However, these two important elements have not been formally integrated into the demand equations for China's exports. As we demonstrate in this paper, income elasticity will be underestimated if new varieties of goods and quality improvements are omitted in price index and quantity index calculations, which are necessary for estimating the export demand function. Moreover, the faster new product varieties enter export markets, the greater the underestimation will be. In this paper, we develop an export demand equation that takes into account new product varieties and improvements in quality, and then calculate the demand function for China's exports using the data from 1992 to 2006. According to our estimation, the short‐term income elasticity of demand for China's exports is approximately 2.34, and the short‐term price elasticity is approximately –0.65. Our estimation predicts an increase in China's export value in the case of an RMB appreciation or export rebate rates reduction in the short term, due to the low price elasticity of China's exports, whose absolute value is less than 1. Our findings are novel and could have significant policy implications.     

China＇s Industrialization and Reduction of Greenhouse Emissions

Over the past two decades, the size of the Chinese economy has more than quadrupled and the energy consumption more than doubled. The drive for further industrialization over the next two decades will continue the trend on a much larger scale. The net increase in emissions from 1990 to 2001 amounted to 823 million tons of COy accounting for 27 percent of the world‘s total. Energy supply and security constitute key constraints to industrialization and,therefore, the mitigation of emissions can in fact contribute to the achievement of development goals. Many actions can be taken to balance industrialization and reduction of emissions.As a large and rapidly growing market, China shares many opportunities with European partners for business cooperation and joint efforts for the reduction of emissions through clean development mechanisms and other bilateral initiatives.     

Effectiveness and Effects of China＇s Capital Controls

Reductions in barriers to global trade have not been accompanied by a widespread loosening of restrictions on international flows of capital, especially in China. This study shows that China has some of the most restrictive controls and uses them effectively to bias flows of cross-border capital heavily in favor of foreign direct investment (FDI) and limit flows of portfolio and bank assets and liabilities, as well as reducing capital flow volatility. China is now facing pressure to speed up its opening to all forms of cross border capital. But since China is still struggling to strengthen its domestic financial structure, capital account liberalization would expose it to considerable risks and potentially high costs.     

China＇s Urban and Rural Old Age Security System： Challenges and Options

I. Introduction In the process of economic transition, China has adopted an urban-priority reform approach in establishing its old age security system, which conforms to international development experiences. China’s rapid aging of people with low-incomes, however, is unprecedented compared with other developed or developing countries. The urban-priority reform ensures a relatively high coverage in urban areas, whereas it imposes a heavy burden ofold age support on rural households. Current …     

Countermeasures for the Development of Publication Logistics in China

The modernization of publication logistics is a major way to improve economic benefit, to realize social benefit of the Chinese publication industry, to reduce total cost of logistics enterprises. In this paper, researches on the development actuality of the Chinese publication logistics in the aspects of logistics network, operation flow, technical level, informalization level and logistics cost. Problems and causes of these problems of publication logistics are analyzed, and suggestions on countermeasures of the development of publication logistics in China are brought forward.     

Viability and the Development of China＇s Capital Markets

The paper analyzes the abnormal phenomena in China‘s capital markets and provides a critical review of the existing hypotheses about the phenomena. The paper argues that thelack of “viability” among most of the listed SOEs is the primary cause of the problems in China‘s capital markets. The paper also applies a consistent framework to analyze the relationship among viability, SOEs and the capital markets, and makes some policy proposals for improving China‘s capital markets.     

Japan＇s Bubble,the USA＇s Bubble and China＇s Bubble

This paper compares the three recent episodes of boom and bust cycles in asset prices: Japan in the late 1980s to the 1990s; the USA since the mid‐1990s; and China during the past decade. Although we have not yet seen a collapse of Chinese property prices, their increases so far are comparable to those in the other two episodes and a careful comparative study is warranted. The present paper first examines the behavior of asset prices, of property prices in particular, in the three cases, and highlights some similarities. The paper emphasizes the role played by extremely easy monetary policy in generating bubble‐like asset price behavior in the three cases. The reason for easy monetary policies is investigated. In the US case, the monetary authority was concerned about the risk of deflation in the early to mid‐2000s. The experiences of Japan and China are quite similar in that the monetary authorities of both countries were seriously concerned about the possible deflationary effects of exchange rate appreciation on the economy. The implications of such a finding for the future of Chinese macroeconomic policy are discussed.